65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 85, § 3
No public utility shall recover from its ratepayers any regulatory proceeding expense unless such expense has been found by the Commission to have been reasonable. The Commission will set regulatory proceeding expenses on a normalized test year basis.
In determining whether a regulatory proceeding expense is reasonable, the Commission shall use the following criteria: 1) the novelty and difficulty of the issues presented; 2) the customary fee for similar services, including the fees rendered in the relevant market to companies of similar size in matters of similar importance to the client; 3) the amount of money at issue and the results obtained; 4) the extent to which the attorney's or expert's services contributed to the presentation of the case, the conduct of the proceedings, resolution of matters prior to Commission decision, and the Commission's deliberation and decision of the proceeding; 5) whether the utility used a negotiations or bidding process, or otherwise considered information concerning the availability, experience, quality and cost of outside attorney and expert services when hiring outside attorneys and experts; and 6) the experience and ability of the attorney or expert. Other factors may be considered if relevant to a particular proceeding.
65- 407 C.M.R. ch. 85, § 3