NOTICES
PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC
UTILITY COMMISSION
Cancellation of Certificates of Public Convenience for Telecommunication Public Utilities; Failure to Operate or File Annual Revenue Report
[49 Pa.B. 5082]
[Saturday, August 31, 2019]Public Meeting held
July 11, 2019Commissioners Present: Gladys Brown Dutrieuille, Chairperson; David W. Sweet, Vice Chairperson; Norman J. Kennard; Andrew G. Place; John F. Coleman, Jr.
Cancellation of Certificates of Public Convenience for Telecommunication Public Utilities; Failure to Operate or File Annual Revenue Report; M-2019-3011090
Tentative Order By the Commission: The Public Utility Code requires that by March 31 of each year, every public utility must file a report detailing its gross intrastate operating revenue for the preceding calendar year. 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b). Gross intrastate operating revenue includes both retail and wholesale revenue derived from providing public utility service to the public for compensation in Pennsylvania. Under the assessment process and allocation formula established by the General Assembly, the public utility's annual revenue report is essential for the Commission to fund its operations and to properly allocate assessment costs among the regulated utility community. Id. Additionally, all public utilities, including telecommunications public utilities, are required to operate continuously and without unreasonable interruptions of service. 66 Pa.C.S. § 1501.
The Commission's Bureau of Administration has undertaken a review of its records to determine whether various utilities are in compliance with their operating and reporting requirements. That review has revealed that a significant number of telecommunications public utilities have repeatedly failed to file the required annual revenue report demonstrating service to the public in Pennsylvania in violation of Section 510(b). 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b). Specifically, the telecommunications public utilities listed in the Appendix, attached hereto, have failed to file the annual revenue report required by Section 510(b) for each of the last three calendar years and have consequently failed to establish any public utility operations in Pennsylvania for that same period of time.
Each telecommunications public utility holding a Commission-issued Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) is assessed based on its gross intrastate operating revenues and is obligated to pay for the reasonable costs attributable to the regulation of all telecommunications public utilities. 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(f). Under the Section 510 assessment process established by the General Assembly, gross intrastate operating revenues is a key metric by which the Commission's costs of operations are allocated among public utilities holding a Commission-issued CPC. 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b). By repeatedly failing to file the required annual revenue report, the telecommunication public utilities listed in the Appendix have violated Section 510(b) of the Code and failed to establish that they are operating continuously in Pennsylvania. Moreover, a carrier that repeatedly fails to file an annual report to demonstrate its intrastate operating revenues indicates that it is either not providing or no longer providing jurisdictional public utility service in Pennsylvania and, therefore, a CPC for that entity is no longer ''necessary or proper for the service, accommodation, convenience, or safety of the public.'' 66 Pa.C.S. § 1103(a).
Under the circumstances, we tentatively conclude that the telecommunications public utilities listed in the Appendix are not in compliance with the reporting requirements of 66 Pa.C.S. § 510(b) nor are they in compliance with the operational requirements of 66 Pa.C.S. § 1501. As such, it is appropriate to initiate the process for cancelling the telecommunications public utilities' CPCs listed in the Appendix as being in the public interest; Therefore,
It Is Ordered:
1. That cancellation of the Certificates of Public Convenience of each telecommunications public utility listed in the Appendix for the provision of intrastate service in Pennsylvania is hereby tentatively approved as being in the public interest.
2. That cancellation of these Certificates of Public Convenience shall not affect whatever interstate operating authority, interconnection rights or other privileges or obligations these telecommunications public utilities may have under federal law, regulations, tariffs or orders.
3. That the Secretary serve a copy of this Tentative Order upon the Commission's Bureau of Investigation & Enforcement, the Bureau of Technical Utility Services, the Bureau of Administration, Department of Revenue—Bureau of Corporation Taxes, and all telecommunications public utilities listed in the Appendix. The Tentative Order shall be filed at each telecommunications public utility's application docket number.
4. That the Law Bureau shall publish a copy of this Tentative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
5. That telecommunications public utilities listed in the Appendix, to the extent they challenge cancellation of their Certificates of Public Convenience, must file comments within 20 days after publication of this Tentative Order in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Comments shall be sent to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Attn: Secretary Rosemary Chiavetta, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 2nd Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
6. Alternatively, the telecommunications public utilities listed in the Appendix may file Section 510(b) revenue reports for calendar years 2016, 2017 and 2018, within 20 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, to reflect gross intrastate operating revenues derived from Pennsylvania operations. The reports shall be sent to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Attn: Secretary Rosemary Chiavetta, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 400 North Street, 2nd Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
7. That absent the timely filing of comments challenging cancellation of a telecommunications public utility's Certificates of Public Convenience, or the timely filing of revised Section 510(b) revenue reports, the Law Bureau shall prepare a Final Order for entry by the Secretary cancelling the telecommunications public utility's Certificate of Public Convenience.
8. That upon entry of the Final Order described in Ordering Paragraph No. 7 above, the Certificate of Public Convenience of each non-compliant telecommunications public utility shall be cancelled, and each non-compliant telecommunications public utility listed in the Appendix will be stricken from all active utility lists maintained by the Commission's Bureau of Technical Utility Services and the Fiscal & Assessments Section of the Bureau of Administration.
ROSEMARY CHIAVETTA,
Secretary
Appendix
Carriers Not Reporting Revenue for 3 or More Years
Utility Code Company Name Application Docket 310121 Telecare, Inc. A-310121 310527 Association Administrators, Inc. A-310527 310543 Net one International, Inc. A-310543 310715 Public Interest Network Svcs, Inc. A-310715 310794 Airnex Communications, Inc. A-310794 310856 Miracle Communications, Inc. A-310856 310995 PulseNet, Inc. A-310995 3110239 iNetworks Group, Inc. A-2008-2049121,
A-2009-2115228,
A-2009-2115231311087 PAClec Corporation A-311087 3111118 321 Communications, Inc. A-2009-2109275 311161 Gold Line Telemanagement, Inc. A-311161 311184 Telenational Communications, Inc. A-311184 311209 NECC Telecom, Inc. A-311209 311227 Teledias Communications, Inc. A-311227 3112769 CCI Network Services, LLC A-2010-2201625 311304 Independent Telecom Systems, Inc. A-311304 311318 Advanced Tel, Inc. A-311318 311323 Crowe Consulting, Inc. A-311323 311373 Salsgiver Telecom, Inc. A-311373, A-311373F0002 311418 Yestel USA, Inc. A-311418 311440 Pulse Telecom, Inc. A-311440 311448 Cheap2Dial Telephone A-311448 3115665 Freedom Telecom Services, LLC A-2013-2358095 3117176 Vitcom, LLC A-2014-2458175,
A-2014-2458213,
A-2014-2458214
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 19-1346. Filed for public inspection August 30, 2019, 9:00 a.m.]
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