Grace Petroleum Corp. v. Public Service Com'n

Citation178 Mich.App. 309,443 N.W.2d 790
Decision Date16 August 1989
Docket NumberDocket No. 106115
PartiesGRACE PETROLEUM CORPORATION, Wolverine Gas & Oil Company, Inc., and Dart Oil & Gas Corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION and Michigan Consolidated Gas Company, Defendants-Appellees, and Attorney General, Residential Ratepayer Consortium, ANR Pipeline Company and Shell Western E & P, Inc., Intervening-Appellees.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Michigan (US)

Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett by Jack D. Sage and Mark L. Collins, Grand Rapids, for Grace Petroleum Corp., Dart Oil and Gas Corp., and Wolverine Gas & Oil Co., Inc.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Louis J. Caruso, Sol. Gen., and Don L. Keskey and Patricia S. Barone, Asst. Attys. Gen., for Public Service Comn.

Foster, Swift, Collins & Coey, P.C. by William K. Fahey, Lansing, and Daniel L. Schiffer and Dennis R. O'Connell, Detroit, for Michigan Consol. Gas Co.

Public Issue Advocates by Christopher L. Campbell, Lansing, for Residential Ratepayer Consortium.

Before DOCTOROFF, P.J., and SAWYER and JASON, * JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Grace Petroleum Corporation, Wolverine Gas & Oil Company, Inc., and Dart Oil & Gas Corporation appeal as of right a December 22, 1987, opinion and order of the Michigan Public Service Commission which approved Michigan Consolidated Gas Company's (Mich Con) gas cost recovery (GCR) plan and factor for 1987, Commission Case No. U-8565. This appeal arises from utility gas cost recovery proceedings conducted by the commission pursuant to 1982 P.A. 304, being M.C.L. Sec. 460.6h; M.S.A. Sec. 22.13(6h). Appellants are intrastate gas producers who supplied about forty-two percent of Mich Con's gas requirements in 1987. Finding that the producers lack standing to challenge the commission's December 22, 1987, order, the order is affirmed.

This proceeding began on September 25, 1986, when Mich Con filed an application for approval of a GCR plan and a GCR factor of $4.12 per Mcf (thousand cubic feet). On August 26, 1987, the hearing referee issued a proposal for decision, recommending a GCR factor of $3,9710 per Mcf. Various parties, including these producers, filed exceptions. The producers argued that because Michigan-produced gas should not be priced at $3.11414 per Mcf, that figure should serve only as a projection. The producers also disputed the comparison of the incremental cost of interstate gas with intrastate gas prices in assessing the reasonableness and prudence of Mich Con's projected gas purchases.

In its December 22, 1987, decision, the commission rejected both of the producers' exceptions. The commission approved the cost of gas by saying:

The Commission believes that $3.11414 per Mcf is a reasonable price for Mich Con to pay for 1987 intrastate gas. Pursuant to 1929 PA 9, as amended [M.C.L. Sec. 483.101 et seq.; M.S.A. Sec. 22.1311 et seq.], the Commission has the authority to establish a reasonable price at which a common purchaser may receive natural gas. In its Opinion and Order dated December 8, 1987 in Case No. U-8573, the Commission stated that:

"The requested price of $3,11414 per Mcf is within that range of prices paid by Mich Con for both inter- and intrastate natural gas, the prior price under the contracts, and the price calculated under the pricing formula, the Commission finds that $3.11414 per Mcf is reasonable and that the price should be authorized for 1987." (Order, p. 11)

The record in this proceeding does not support a contrary finding.

In addition, the commission approved the continued use of incremental cost comparisons.

Consistent with the Commission's order in Case No. U-8288 dated December 17, 1966, the Commission continues to support the Staff's comparison of the cost of intrastate gas with the incremental cost of interstate gas for pricing gas in Mich Con's supply mix. Thus, the Commission's review of utility management decisions regarding gas acquisition focuses upon incremental cost differences. No party to this proceeding presented evidence that has persuaded the Commission to change this position.

The issues raised by the producers on appeal are whether the commission has authority under 1929 P.A. 9, M.C.L. Sec. 483.101 et seq.; M.S.A. Sec. 22.1311 et seq., to examine and regulate prices Mich Con pays for gas supplies from producers and whether the commission erred in utilizing the incremental cost comparison.

We find these issues improperly before us because the producers lack standing to appeal. For a party to have standing to appeal, he must have an interest in the subject matter of the litigation. An appeal can only be taken by parties who are affected by the judgment appealed from. There must be some substantial rights of the parties which the judgment would prejudice. A party is aggrieved by a judgment or order when it operates on his rights...

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  • Midland Cogeneration Venture Ltd. Partnership v. Public Service Com'n
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US
    • April 19, 1993
    ...when it operates on the party's rights and property, or bears directly on the party's interest. Grace Petroleum Corp. v. Public Service Comm., 178 Mich.App. 309, 312, 443 N.W.2d 790 (1989). Here, conditions 2 and 3 affect MCV's right to control its accounting and bookkeeping practices, and ......
  • People v. Yeoman, Docket No. 165345
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    ...An appellate court need not review an issue in which the party alleging error lacks standing. Grace Petroleum Corp. v. Public Service Comm., 178 Mich.App. 309, 312, 443 N.W.2d 790 (1989). Thus, though a somewhat "amorphous" concept, Smith, supra at 11, 360 N.W.2d 841, quoting Flast v. Cohen......
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    ...the issue. Ford Motor Co. v. Jackson (On Rehearing), 399 Mich. 213, 226, 249 N.W.2d 29 (1976); Grace Petroleum Corp. v. Public Service Comm., 178 Mich.App. 309, 312-313, 443 N.W.2d 790 (1989). Second, the Herrintons note in their brief on appeal that they separated their appeal from that of......
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    • September 30, 2021
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