1507 Notice of investigation into practice of paper invoice charges; doc. no. I-2010-2014444

PENNSYLVANIA PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION

[40 Pa.B. 4728]
[Saturday, August 14, 2010]

Notice of Investigation into Practice of Paper Invoice Charges; Doc. No. I-2010-2014444

By the Commission:

 At the June 7, 2010 public meeting, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) adopted an Order initiating a Joint Investigation by the Commission's Law Bureau, Bureau of Consumer Services and Fixed Utility Services (Telecommunications Division) into the practice of telecommunications carriers charging a fee for issuing a paper bill. See, Petition of Cordia Communications Corp., for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier Under Section 214(e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and 47 CFR 54.101, 201-207, Doc. No. P-2008-2014444, (June 7, 2010). Subsequently, at the July 15, 2010 public meeting, the Commission set a November 15, 2010, deadline for completion of the joint investigation and identified certain issues which should be specifically addressed in the investigation. See, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission v. Cavalier Telephone Mid-Atlantic, LLC, Doc. Nos., R-2010-2176403; R-2010-2179527 (July 15, 2010).

 Accordingly, this notice of investigation into the practice of paper billing fees for telecommunications carriers seeks comments and reply comments from all interested parties and specifically seeks input on the following issues:

 (a) The impact of the Commission's ''tariff parity'' regulations at 52 Pa. Code §§ 53.57, et seq., regarding incumbent local exchange carriers and CLECs on the practice of charging a paper invoice fee.

 (b) The differentiation of paper billing fees and the legality of their application for residential and business customers who receive price unregulated/competitive telecommunications services, that is, bundled services.

 (c) The imposition of paper billing fees to end-user customers of price deregulated intrastate long distance and the implications of 66 Pa.C.S. § 3018(b) (that is, whether the paper billing fee is an IXC price deregulated rate).

 (d) The effect of the Electronic Transactions Act on the statutory interpretation of Section 1509 of the Public Utility Code, 66 Pa.C.S. § 1509.

 Copies of the Motion and original Order initiating the investigation can be obtained by contacting the Secretary of the Commission. Comments should be filed within 20 days of the date of publication of this notice and reply comments filed 10 days thereafter, delivered to:

Rosemary Chiavetta, Secretary
Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
P. O. Box 3265
400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17105-3265

 The Contact person for this notice is Elizabeth Lion Januzzi, Assistant Counsel, [phone].

ROSEMARY CHIAVETTA, 
Secretary

[Pa.B. Doc. No. 10-1507. Filed for public inspection August 13, 2010, 9:00 a.m.]