Verizon: Conn. Regulators Should Not Deny Competitive Reclassification

Verizon asked Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to condition rather than deny deregulation of the carrier’s services. PURA plans to vote Oct. 16 on a draft order that would deny Verizon’s petition to reclassify its remaining services as competitive and retire the company’s alternative form of regulation plan (see 2410030043). The draft would find that possible harm to the public interest outweighs the presence of competition in Verizon’s Greenwich, Connecticut, market. Filing an exception Thursday, Verizon said PURA's “proposed decision includes a legal error and reaches conclusions on competition inconsistent with the evidentiary record.” Describing the alleged error, Verizon said, “That certain statutes would no longer apply to a company providing competitive services is precisely what the Legislature intended when it established a framework encompassing both the conditions for and consequences of reclassification … By relying on the regulatory changes that will necessarily accompany reclassification under the statutory scheme, the Authority in effect declared that reclassification itself is inherently contrary to the public interest.” However, Verizon said that if PURA grants reclassification, it would be willing to continue to be bound by current Connecticut customer termination procedures and certain state reporting requirements related to equipment conditions and accidents. The carrier proposed this condition previously. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel supported PURA’s proposed decision while recommending minor clarifications.