News from the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission
Phone: (405)
521-4180, FAX: (405) 522-1623, www.occ.state.ok.us
September 5,
2001
SOUTHWESTERN
BELL’S ARGUMENT FOR PRICE HIKE REJECTED
(Oklahoma City) Southwestern
Bell’s (SWBT) plan to raise the local phone bills of many Oklahomans has hit a
roadblock with today’s rejection of the plan by Ernest Johnson, the Director of
the Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Public Utility Division.
Claiming it did not need
Commission approval, Bell announced plans to increase the price paid for basic
local exchange service for customers in 50 exchanges in Oklahoma, by moving the
exchanges into a higher priced
classification. Such a move would result in an increase totaling as much as
$11,800,000 per year. Residential customers’ bills would be increased by as
much as $10.20 a year, while businesses could see an annual increase of as much
as $61.44 a year.
In rejecting Bell’s
notification, Johnson cited the opinion of Commission General Counsel William
Burkett. Burkett found the reclassification would violate the price cap
regulation plan SWBT agreed to in June of last year. Burkett notes the Florida
State Supreme Court upheld the Florida Public Service Commission in a similar
case in 1998. In that case, the Florida Commission rejected a plan by Bell
South to reclassify its exchanges after the company had opted for price
regulation similar to the plan SWBT chose in Oklahoma.
Southwestern Bell has argued
the reclassification is neither a rate hike nor a price change, but Johnson
says that is “a distinction without a difference,” as the bottom line is that
customers would still pay more for their service.
-occ-
All OCC releases and advisories are available for viewing and downloading from the OCC website: www.occ.state.ok.us