PROPOSED RULEMAKING
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION
[52 Pa. CODE CH. 53]
[27 Pa.B. 4099] [L-00940095]
Telecommunications Utilities Commissioners present: John M. Quain, Chairperson; Robert K. Bloom, Vice Chairperson, concurring in result; John Hanger; David W. Rolka; Nora Mead Brownell
Public meeting held
July 31, 1997
Second Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Order By the Commission:
Subsequent to our Policy Statement Re Settlement Guidelines and Procedures for Major Rate Cases at Docket No. L-00930088, order entered August 9, 1994, we ordered that the existing filing requirement regulations for general rate increases in excess of $1 million in § 53.53 (relating to information to be furnished with proposed general rate increase filings in excess of $1 million) be updated and revised. As such, by order entered October 18, 1994, at the above-docketed number, we initiated a rulemaking proceeding for each utility industry at the above-docketed number and solicited comments concerning revising and streamlining § 53.53 of these regulations.
Since that time, staff has initiated technical conferences in all industry groups, including telephone. With regard to the telephone industry, these conferences have been designed to assist the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) in developing proposed regulations for general rate increases in excess of $1 million that are filed by telecommunications utilities. The technical group, to date, has not issued a proposed rulemaking to the Commission for review.
At the same time, it has become clear in recent months that the advent of local exchange competition and the entry of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) in Pennsylvania's market for local exchange telecommunications services has created the need for revisiting other portions of the Commission's regulatory oversight mechanisms. Although CLEC tariff filings are typically addressed by this Commission in a routine fashion, certain problems periodically arise in evaluating such filings. In addition, certain CLEC tariff filings have become the subject of formal complaints by incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). See Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, Inc. v. TCG Pennsylvania, Docket No. C-00967719, order entered February 28, 1997; Pa. P.U.C. v. Eastern TeleLogic Corporation, Docket No. R-00973881, order entered March 27, 1997. These cases are time and resource consuming, despite use of our alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process, and may be avoided with clarified and streamlined regulations. The aim of these revisions and streamlining should be to make our regulatory oversight competitively neutral while permitting the ILECs and the CLECs the requisite flexibility to respond to the changes in the marketplace for their services. Therefore, at public meeting held June 12, 1997, we directed that the above-cited rulemaking be revised and expanded to examine the filing requirements applicable to all providers of local exchange service who seek to effectuate tariff changes under section 1308(a) and (b) of the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § 1308(a) and (b).1 We believe it necessary to refocus the direction taken thus far at the above-docketed proceeding to encompass both the originally contemplated revisions of the filing requirements at § 53.53 for general rate increases in excess of $1 million, as well as revisions to filing requirements in § 53.52 for all other rate changes that are proposed by providers of local exchange telecommunications services. Accordingly, we are supplementing the initial advance notice of proposed rulemaking document to attract comments from CLECs and other interested parties. In doing so, we are seeking regulatory parity: all providers should share the benefit and burdens of regulation equally.
The revised filing requirements should be consistent with the generic guidelines for the Chapter 30 streamlined regulation of local exchange telephone companies with less than 50,000 access lines. In re Implementation of Chapter 30 of the Public Utility Code; Streamlined Form of Regulation, Docket No. M-00930483, Order entered August 25, 1995. These Chapter 30 guidelines encourage participants to use prefiling collaborative processes or the Commission's ADR procedures to minimize discovery and the time and expense customarily associated with evidentiary proceedings. In addition, we have previously directed implementation of streamlined procedures by local exchange carriers (LECs) regarding the filing of intraLATA toll service tariff filings when intraLATA ''1+'' presubscription becomes effective. Investigation Into IntraLATA Interconnection Arrangements, Docket No. I-00940034, Order entered December 14, 1995; See also Petition of Commonwealth Telephone Company for an Alternative Regulation and Network Modernization Plan, et al., Docket Nos. P-00961024 & P-00961081, Order entered January 17, 1997; In re Interexchange Carrier Regulation Under Chapter 30 of the Public Utility Code, Docket Nos. L-00940099 & M-00930496, Final Rulemaking Order entered April 29, 1997.
In the Commission's judgment, this second advance notice of proposed rulemaking will provide an appropriate forum for all providers of local exchange telecommunications service--incumbents and new entrants--to address the issue of what filing requirements should govern section 1308(a) and (b) tariff changes, 66 Pa.C.S. § 1308(a) and (b). In particular, we request comments concerning the following:
1. Tariff Filing Support Documentation. Section 53.52 of our regulations requires all tariff filings to be accompanied by certain supporting documentation to assist in the timely evaluation and disposition of the associated filings by this Commission and its staff. Consider what changes, if any, should be implemented in order to reflect more appropriate supporting documentation requirements for particular types of tariff filings.
2. Cost Support Documentation. Tariff filings of ILECs that affect service rates are accompanied by appropriate cost support documentation that usually include both revenue analyses and cost justification of proposed rates for either existing or new services. Given the fact that CLECs are relatively new entrants in Pennsylvania's market for telecommunications services subject to this Commission's jurisdiction and regulation, discuss the accounting and administrative systems necessary to support documentation pursuant to our regulations. Discuss accounting systems available to the CLECs which may be comparable to the Federal Communications Commission's prescribed use of the Uniform System of Accounts.
3. CLEC Services and Rates. The rates for local exchange services that are provided by a CLEC are usually within the bounds of existing ILEC retail service rates and the interconnection and/or wholesale rates that a CLEC will pay to an ILEC(s), especially when CLECs resell ILEC retail services under the Federal Act. Consider the need for extensive cost support data for such CLEC service rates that are largely based on existing ILEC retail service rates.
4. Local Exchange Carrier IntraLATA Toll Rates. LECs have been accorded the flexibility to utilize filing procedures that are currently utilized only by interexchange carriers (IXCs) under the Commission's Chapter 30 guidelines. LECs will be able to avail themselves of such procedures for their intraLATA toll services and rates upon the effective implementation of intraLATA ''1+'' presubscription. Due to the abbreviated review period that will be accorded to such toll service tariff filings, it is imperative that uniform guidelines apply for the filing of associated support documentation that will be accompanying such tariff filings by various telecommunications carriers. Discuss uniform guidelines which will ensure the competitive neutrality of Commission oversight for LECs and IXCs in the intraLATA toll market.
5. Tariff Filings for Service ''Packages'' and Supporting Documentation. Members of the regulated telecommunications industry in Pennsylvania ''package'' various service for a single price. For example, CLECs meeting the conditions set out in the Section 271(e)(1) of the Federal Act can engage in the ''joint marketing'' of local exchange and toll services. In re Implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Docket No. M-00960799, order entered June 3, 1996. In Petition of Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, Inc. for Expedited Modification of Consent Order and Waiver of Certain Chapter 64 Requirements, Docket No. C-00881727, order entered June 12, 1997, we relaxed certain ''joint marketing'' restrictions for Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania, Inc., though we directed that consumer protection safeguards for ''service package'' offerings of ILECs and CLECs be considered under the Commission's Rulemaking to Rescind Obsolete Regulations, 52 Pa. Code Chapters 63 and 64, at Docket No. L-00960113. Discuss documentary support issues for tariff filings of ILECs and CLECs that purport to implement ''joint service package'' offerings, should be addressed in the instant Docket.
6. Promotional Offering Tariff Filings. Promotional tariff filings by ILECs and CLECs should be discussed in terms of providing competitively neutral regulatory guidelines and supporting documentation which would apply equally to ILECs and CLECs. Discuss the type of supporting data to be filed for individual promotional offering tariff filings. Include comments concerning the design of promotional tariffs to protect the welfare interests of end-user consumers as well as to afford the Commission and its staff the opportunity to evaluate timely whether individual promotional offerings may have anticompetitive effects.
The above questions are not intended to be all inclusive. Any other comments concerning this rulemaking are welcome; Therefore,
It is Ordered:
1. That a second advance notice of proposed rulemaking is hereby issued concerning filing requirements for local exchange carriers as currently delineated in §§ 53.52 and 53.53 of our regulations.
2. That this second advance notice of proposed rulemaking order be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
3. That interested parties shall have 45 days from the publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of this second advance notice of proposed rulemaking to file written comments or proposed language, or both.
4. That an original and 15 copies of comments, proposals and proposed language be served upon the Prothonotary, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Post Office Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265. An additional copy should be sent to C. Barney Glunz, Supervisor, Bureau of Fixed Utility Services at the same address.
5. That the contact persons for this rulemaking are C. Barney Glunz, Supervisor, Bureau of Fixed Utility Services (717) 783-6163 (technical) and Susan T. Povilaitis, Assistant Counsel, Law Bureau (717) 787-2871 (legal).
6. That a copy of this order shall be served upon the Pennsylvania Telephone Association, all jurisdictional telecommunication utilities, all jurisdictional CLECs, the Office of Trial Staff, the Office of Consumer Advocate and the Small Business Advocate.
7. That, upon receipt of comments by interested parties, one or more informal technical conferences will be convened by the Bureau of Fixed Utility Services for the purposes of discussing the issues raised by the rulemaking. Notice of the time, date and location of such conferences shall be forwarded to any person filing comments and shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Persons wishing to make presentations at such conferences may be requested to submit written data underlying such presentations in advance of the conference date. The contact person for these conferences is C. Barney Glunz, Supervisor, Bureau of Fixed Utility Services (717) 783-6163.
JAMES J. MCNULTY
Acting Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-1300. Filed for public inspection August 15, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]
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