Petition for Review of a Proposed Rate Increase
Certain telecommunications service providers are required to inform customers of any adjustment to rates. Once notified of a proposed price change, customers may have the option to petition for the PUC to review the proposed rate change or to request the company’s rate exemption be revoked.
This petition process generally applies to smaller, landline telecommunications carriers located throughout the state. The process does not apply to the following carriers:
- CenturyLink, Frontier or their affiliates (United, CenturyTel, and Citizens) as those companies are regulated under a Price Plan
- Cooperatives
- Cellular services
- Internet services
The PUC will evaluate the proposed rates if 10 percent of the service providers’ customers submit a petition. There are two ways to petition:
- Submit an Individual Customer Petition on your own.
- Download the Group Customer Petition and work to obtain signatures from fellow customers of the same service provider and same service proposed to experience a rate increase.
Petition Guidelines
The following rules apply to customer petitions:
- Petitioners must be a current customer of the utility.
- The PUC must receive all petitions no later than 10 days before the new rate goes into effect.
- Petitions require an original signature, so may not be sent by email, fax or requested by phone.
- Individual customer letters may be accepted in lieu of the official petition form, but must include: name, account phone number, address, and purpose of the petition.
Petition Findings
If at least 10 percent or 500 customers (whichever is less) file petitions with the PUC regarding a rate increase, the PUC may open a proceeding, place the proposed rate change on hold, and investigate the proposed rate. The PUC will determine whether the rate(s) are just and reasonable, then issue an order either; rejecting the rate completely, revising the rate to a different amount, or allowing the original rate as proposed to go into effect.