Wash. UTC Fines Lumen for Raising Rates Without Notice

Washington state assessed Lumen’s CenturyLink a $226,000 penalty for raising customer rates without telling regulators, in violation of a 2014 alternative regulation plan. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission upheld the penalty last week, it said Monday. The telco violated the 2014 agreement last year, the UTC said. CenturyLink admitted to violations in June but sought mitigation of the proposed penalty due to COVID-19 personnel reductions and other reasons. Worker shortages caused by the pandemic don’t relieve the telco of its obligations, the commission decided in docket UT-220397. The commission rejected the company’s arguments that consumers weren’t harmed and that the agency improperly calculated the number of violations. Lumen declined to comment Monday.