37-2-402. Consumer advocate; powers and duties.

(a) The consumer advocate shall have the power to:

(i) Act as a party in any proceeding before the commission, with the same rights and subject to the same obligations and requirements and limitations on ex parte communications, including confidentiality requirements, as other parties to the proceeding;

(ii) Appeal actions of the commission in accordance with W.S. 37-2-219;

(iii) Seek permission to appear as amicus curiae in any court proceeding in order to accomplish the purposes specified in this article;

(iv) Provide information and assistance to individual consumers regarding proceedings within the jurisdiction of the commission.

(b) In any commission docketed case initiated by the regulated company in which the consumer advocate is a party, the consumer advocate shall have the same access to books, maps, contracts, reports and records of every description as the commission. For all other instances, the consumer advocate shall have the same access as other parties.

(c) The consumer advocate shall not advocate for or on behalf of any individual, organization or entity.

(d) The consumer advocate may enter into stipulations with other parties in any proceeding to balance the interests of those it represents with the interests of the public utilities as means of minimizing the weaknesses of the adversarial process, improving the quality of resulting decisions in a highly technical environment and minimizing the cost of regulation.

(e) In any case where the office of consumer advocate does not intervene, the commission shall have the authority to authorize its staff to participate as a party before the commission. The commission shall exercise this authority not later than five (5) business days following the deadline for any intervention.