Agenda Date:  November 15, 1999
Item No.:      

Docket:  UT-991737
Company:  Telecommunications General

Staff:   Bob Shirley, Regulatory Consultant
   Gargi Bhattacharya, Telecommunications Analyst
   Jacob Wexler, Telecommunications Analyst

Recommendation:       

Direct the Secretary to file a Preproposal Statement of Inquiry (CR-101) with 
the Code Reviser regarding Line Extensions for telecommunications customers.

Discussion:
The present rule reads:

 WAC     480-120-071  Line extension policy.  
All utilities shall have on file as part of their established tariff, a line 
extension schedule stating the terms and conditions under which extensions of 
its lines and services will be made to render service to applicants.

This suggested rulemaking has arisen because the existing regulatory provisions 
have not been sufficient to resolve several long-running disputes concerning 
line extensions that have come to the Commission’s attention. Those include: 
Mt. Hull/Swanson Mill Road area of the Oroville exchange, where approximately 
200 households have attempted to get line extensions as far back as 1991; Cedar 
Ponds Lake in the Sultan exchange, where over 20 houses have been unsuccessful 
in receiving a line extension; and Pontiac Ridge, where the successfully 
completed line extension took more than 16 months for customers to obtain 
service.  Commission staff believes that rulemaking may be an effective way to 
provide a resolution for, or a means to resolve, such disputes.

In addition to these areas, there are presently other areas that are outside of 
any exchange boundaries and without service.  While this rulemaking would not 
address the process for creating new exchanges or adding unserved areas to 
existing exchanges, it would address the situation these residents will face 
once added to an exchange.

Conclusion:
If authorized, this rulemaking will permit both the public and the 
telecommunications companies to comment on this topic where disputes have been 
common and of long duration.  The comments will create a record for the 
Commission to use in considering whether to propose changes or additions to the 
existing rule.