(1) General. The commission may require that all parties to, and all persons who seek to intervene in, a proceeding attend a prehearing conference. The following topics are proper subjects for discussion at a prehearing conference:

(a) Identification and simplification of the issues;

(b) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;

(c) Establishment of a procedural schedule including, but not limited to, the need for, and timing of, prefiled testimony and exhibits;

(d) Disposition of petitions for leave to intervene;

(e) Availability of the commission's discovery rules or resolution of discovery disputes;

(f) Resolution of pending motions;

(g) Entry of a standard or amended protective order to protect confidential or highly confidential information;

(h) Service requirements, including creation of a master service list and disposition of any objections to commission service of orders and notices solely in electronic form; and

(i) Any other matters that may aid in the disposition of the proceeding, whether by commission decision or by settlement.

(2) Notice. The commission will provide reasonable notice of the time and place established for a prehearing conference and the matters to be addressed. A party's failure to attend a prehearing conference constitutes the party's waiver of all objections to any order or ruling arising out of the conference or any agreement reached at conference, unless the party shows good cause for its failure to attend.

(3) Oral statement or written order. The presiding officer may make an oral statement on the record or may enter an order describing the actions taken at the prehearing conference and agreements among the parties concerning all of the matters considered.

(a) Objections. Parties may object to the oral statement on the record at the time the oral statement is made, or may object to any written prehearing conference order within ten days after the date the order is served. The commission will consider any objections pursuant to the procedures in WAC 480-07-810.

(b) Results. In the absence of a timely objection that the commission sustains, the results of the prehearing conference will control the course of the proceeding unless modified by subsequent order or decision of the presiding officer to accommodate the needs of the case.

(4) Prehearing conferences to facilitate evidentiary hearing. The presiding officer may require parties to attend a prehearing conference prior to an evidentiary or other hearing session, or may recess an evidentiary or other hearing session to conduct a prehearing conference.