Are Chris Christie’s public utilities regulators trying to pull a fast one, allowing major telephone changes without input from the public?
IBEW Local 827, which represents 18,000 active and retired telecommunications workers in New jersey, thinks so. IBEW Union President Bob Speer said in an email:
“We received a stipulation between BPU Staff and Verizon. It purports to settle the case in which Verizon sought to deregulate its remaining regulated services. This stipulation would immediately deregulate residential basic service, single line business, installation charges and Directory Assistance. It has price caps for those services for five years but the deregulation is immediate. It keeps service quality requirements for three years with a reassessment for perhaps another two, but it is unclear what happens to the Plan for Alternative Regulation once they are deregulated.”
This sounds like major changes, but, IBEW says, Christie’s Board of Public Utilities says that public comment is not required. “Only interested parties have been notified and have till Friday (May 15) to comment. It seems irresponsible that consumers impacted by this major change would have no input or notification, since the BPU doesn’t consider the public an interested party.”
The union also says there is concern over what oversight would remain after the stipulation is approved. “There will be no input or oversight by the Rate Council, the consumer advocate, regarding any rate hikes or change in service requirements.”
The issue first went before the BPU in 2011. There was a full hearing, according to the state’s Rate Counsel, IBEW said. The counsel introduced evidence there was no real competition and significant barriers exist for other carriers to enter the market. Nothing more was heard publicly about it until now.
IBEW has an online petition here.
It reads in part: “For these reasons, it is incumbent on the Board to expressly release its findings, refresh the record, provide opportunity for public comment by the consumers that will be affected prior to accepting the Stipulation of Settlement. We ask that you contact the NJ Board of Public Utilities by Friday May 16, 2015 to urge them to withdraw the proposed Stipulation of Settlement, issue public notice and conduct public hearings before executing any agreement that would remove such critical consumer protections.
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