Conn. Authority Unanimously Denies Verizon Competitive Status

Connecticut utility regulators voted 3-0 to deny Verizon deregulation. At a meeting Wednesday, the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority approved an order rejecting Verizon’s petition reclassifying its remaining Connecticut services as competitive and retiring the company’s alternative form of regulation plan (see 2410110020 and 2410030043). PURA found that possible harm to the public interest outweighed the presence of competition in Verizon’s Greenwich market. The carrier’s offer of an enforceable commitment to abide by current Connecticut customer termination procedures and certain state reporting requirements failed to alleviate all the authority's concerns, said the final decision. “Such a proposal requires additional consideration during the course of a proceeding, where the Authority can solicit feedback from other stakeholders." In any case, “such a proposal does not address the Authority’s conclusions regarding the number, size, and geographic distribution of certified telecommunications providers offering service in the Service Area nor the inconclusive nature of what barriers to entry do or do not exist in the Service Area,” PURA said. Verizon didn’t comment. Of the authority's four commissioners, Vice Chairman Jack Betkoski didn’t vote because he wasn’t on the three-person panel assigned to docket 24-06-15, a PURA spokesperson said.