| (a) Purpose. The provisions of this section:
(1) establish the minimum criteria and standards for
reclassifying a basic network service as a discretionary service or
competitive service; or a discretionary service as a competitive service,
in accordance with the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) §58.024;
and
(2) to establish the procedures to be followed in petitioning
for reclassification.
(b) Application. This section applies to electing ILECs.
(c) General standards for reclassification of a service.
The following conditions must be satisfied to reclassify a service.
(1) Prerequisite for reclassification of a service.
The commission may reclassify a service only if each competitive safeguard
prescribed by PURA Chapter 60, Subchapters B through H, is fully implemented.
(2) Designation of reclassification area. An electing
ILEC must designate the exchange areas for which it is seeking to
reclassify each service. A reclassification area must contain the
entire territory of each exchange area designated.
(3) Identification of services to be reclassified.
An electing ILEC must identify each service which it is seeking to
reclassify and must specify for each service whether the service is
for residential lines, business lines, or both.
(4) Public interest standard. The reclassification
of the service is just and reasonable, is not unreasonably preferential,
prejudicial, or discriminatory, or predatory or anti-competitive,
and is in the public interest.
(5) Rate changes. Rate changes must be contemplated
by the commission, in a separate proceeding, after reclassification
has occurred.
(d) Standards for reclassification of a basic network
service as a discretionary service. In addition to meeting the requirements
of subsection (c) of this section, the following conditions must be
satisfied to reclassify a basic network service as a discretionary
service:
(1) The service is not necessary to complete a telephone
call; and
(2) Public policy determines that the service does
not need to remain in a basic network service classification.
(e) Standards for reclassification of a basic network
service or discretionary service as a competitive service. In addition
to meeting the requirements of subsection (c), the following conditions
must be satisfied to reclassify a basic network service as a competitive
service, or to reclassify a discretionary service as a competitive
service:
(1) There is an alternative facilities-based provider
offering the same, equivalent, or substitutable service at comparable
rates, terms, and conditions in the reclassification area;
(2) At least 60% of access lines of the type, either
residential, business, or both, for which the service is provided
that are located in the reclassification area have access to alternative,
facilities-based providers;
(3) Substantial barriers to entry do not exist for
the relevant market;
(4) The existing competitors have or can easily obtain
additional capacity, or new competitors may easily enter the market
in response to an increase in price of the electing ILEC's rates;
and
(5) The electing ILEC does not have market power sufficient
to control the price of the service in the reclassification area in
a manner that is adverse to the public interest.
(f) Requirements for notice and contents of the application
in compliance with this section.
(1) Notice of Application. The electing ILEC must provide
direct notice to all certificate of convenience and necessity, service
provider certificate of operating authority, and certificate of operating
authority holders offering service in the reclassification area and
issue notice to each customer of the ILEC in the reclassification
area. The notice must include a description of the requested reclassification,
the service, the proposed rates, the reclassification area, other
terms of the service, the types of customers likely to be affected
if the application is approved, the proposed effective date for the
application, and the following language: "Persons who wish to comment
on this application should notify the commission by (specified date,
ten days before the proposed effective date), and (any other item
required by the presiding officer). Requests for further information
should be mailed to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, P.O. Box
13326, Austin, Texas 78711-3326, or you may call the PUCT Consumer
Protection Division at (512) 936-7120 or toll free at (888) 782-8477.
Hearing- and speech-impaired individuals may contact the commission
through Relay Texas at 1-800-735-2989."
(2) Contents of application for each electing ILEC
seeking a service reclassification. In addition to the commission's
filing requirements, one copy of the application must be delivered
to commission staff and one copy must be delivered to the Office of
Public Utility Counsel (OPUC). The application must contain the following:
(A) A showing by the electing ILEC that the competitive
safeguards in PURA, Chapter 60, Subchapters B through H have been
met;
(B) For each exchange in the reclassification area,
a description of the reclassification sought, each service, the rates,
terms, and conditions under which each service is currently provided,
how the proposed reclassification of each service is just and reasonable
and is not unreasonably preferential, prejudicial, discriminatory,
predatory or anti-competitive;
(C) A description of the reclassification area, specifying
the exchange area or areas, for which the reclassification is requested;
(D) The proposed effective date of the reclassification;
(E) A statement detailing the method and content of
the notice, if any, the utility has provided or intends to provide
to the public regarding the application and a brief statement explaining
why the electing ILEC's notice proposal is reasonable and that the
electing ILEC's notice proposal complies with applicable law;
(F) A copy of the text of the notice, if any;
(G) A showing that the relevant standards required
under subsection (d) or (e) of this section, whichever is applicable,
have been satisfied for each exchange in the reclassification area;
(i) An estimate of the number and size of alternative
facilities-based providers offering the service to be reclassified
for each exchange in the reclassification area;
(ii) The total number and percentage of the electing
ILEC's subscribers of the service in the reclassification area, for
each exchange, measured by number of customers and access lines;
(iii) An estimate of the electing ILEC's market share
for the service, for each exchange, measured by number of customers
and access lines; and
(H) An explanation of how the reclassification of the
service advances the public interest for each exchange in the reclassification
area.
(g) Commission processing of application.
(1) Administrative review. An application considered
under this section is eligible for administrative review unless the
electing ILEC requests the application be docketed or the presiding
officer, for good cause, determines at any point during the review
that the application should be docketed.
(A) The operation of the proposed rate schedule may
be suspended for 35 days after the effective date of the reclassification.
The effective date must be no earlier than 30 days after the filing
date of the application or 30 days after public notice is completed,
whichever is later.
(B) The application must be reviewed for sufficiency.
If the presiding officer concludes that material deficiencies exist
in the application, the applicant must be notified within ten working
days of the filing date of the specific deficiency in its application,
and the earliest possible effective date of the reclassification will
be no less than 30 days after the filing of a sufficient application
with substantially complete information as required by the presiding
officer. Thereafter, any deadlines will be determined 30 days from
the day after the filing of the sufficient application and information
or from the effective date if the presiding officer extends that date.
(C) While the application is under administrative review,
the commission staff and the staff of OPUC may submit requests for
information to the electing ILEC. A copy of all answers to such requests
for information must be filed with central records and must be provided
to OPUC within ten days after receipt of the request by the electing
ILEC.
(D) No later than 20 days after the filing date of
the sufficient application, interested persons may provide to the
commission staff written comments or recommendations concerning the
application. Commission staff will and OPUC may file with the presiding
officer written comments or recommendations concerning the application.
Cont'd... |
