| (B) If the presiding officer does not make a final
determination concerning the effective date of a rate change before
the expiration of the suspension period, the effective date is automatically
approved unless a hearing is already in progress.
(f) Administrative review. An application filed in
accordance with this section will be reviewed administratively.
(1) Review of sufficiency.
(A) The presiding officer will deem an application
to be sufficient if it, at a minimum:
(i) includes an effective date and, as applicable,
meets the requirements of subsection (b)(1)(A) or (2)(A) of this section;
(ii) meets the requirements of §26.207 of this
title and the applicable provision specified by subsection (a)(1)
of this section under which the application was filed;
(iii) includes proof that notice of the application
was provided in compliance with subsection (d) of this section; and
(iv) if the application involves the withdrawal of
a service, that the requirements of subsection (i) of this section
have been met.
(B) No later than 20 days after the date an application
is filed:
(i) an interested person, including the Office of Public
Utility Counsel (OPUC), may file written comments or recommendations
concerning the sufficiency of the application; and
(ii) commission staff must file a recommendation regarding
the sufficiency of the application.
(C) If the presiding officer concludes that the application
is insufficient, the presiding officer will notify the applicant of
the insufficiency in the relevant portions of the application and
cite the particular requirement with which the application does not
comply. The presiding officer will grant the applicant an opportunity
to cure each specific deficiency within a specified time period, and
change the effective date in accordance with subsection (e)(3) of
this section.
(2) Substantive review of application. The presiding
officer must approve or deny an application not later than 60 days
after a complete application is filed. An application is complete
if the presiding officer has deemed that the application is sufficient
under paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(A) The presiding officer will substantively review
the application to determine whether the application fulfills the
requirements of this subparagraph and other applicable law. To approve
an application, the presiding officer must, at a minimum, determine
that:
(i) the proposed rates and terms of the service are
not unreasonably preferential, prejudicial, or discriminatory, subsidized
directly or indirectly by regulated monopoly services, or predatory
or anticompetitive; and
(ii) provision of the service is consistent with the
public interest in a technologically advanced telecommunications system,
the preservation of universal service, and the prevention of anticompetitive
practices and of subsidization of new and experimental services with
revenues from regulated monopoly services.
(B) Commission staff must file a recommendation regarding
whether the application meets the substantive requirements of this
paragraph. Commission staff's recommendation on whether an application
meets the substantive requirements for administrative approval may
be provided with its recommendation on the sufficiency of the application
in accordance with paragraph (1) of this subsection, or in a subsequent
filing.
(C) While the application is under substantive review
by the presiding officer, commission staff and OPUC may submit requests
for information to the applicant.
(i) Notwithstanding the requirements of §22.144
of this title (relating to Requests for Information and Requests for
Admission of Facts), the applicant must file the requested information
with the commission within 15 days after receipt of such a request
for information.
(ii) If an applicant does not respond to a request
for information within the time period specified by clause (i) of
this subparagraph, the presiding officer will reject the application
without prejudice and notify the applicant of the rejection.
(iii) If the presiding officer does not approve or
deny the application within 30 days from the date the requested information
is filed with the commission, the application is automatically approved.
(3) Automatic approval. A complete application is automatically
approved 60 days from the date it is filed if:
(A) the presiding officer does not approve or deny
the complete application; and
(B) commission staff or the presiding officer do not
request supplemental information from the applicant.
(4) Docketing prohibited. An application, except for
an application involving a rate increase as provided by subsection
(h) of this section, cannot be docketed.
(g) Approval or denial of applications. For an application
to be approved, the applicant must meet the requirements of the applicable
provisions of this section and other applicable law, unless such requirements
are modified or waived by the presiding officer. If, based on the
administrative review, the presiding officer determines that:
(1) all requirements not waived have been met, the
application will be approved in the manner specified by the presiding
officer.
(2) one or more of the requirements not waived have
not been met, the presiding officer will:
(A) dismiss the application without prejudice; or
(B) docket the application in accordance with subsection
(h) of this section if the application involves a rate change, except
for a rate change covered by §26.171 of this title.
(h) Docketing and of an application involving a rate
change. The presiding officer may docket an application involving
a rate change, except for a rate change covered by §26.171 of
this title, in accordance with this section.
(1) If an application is docketed, the presiding officer
may suspend the effective date of a rate change in the manner provided
by subsection (e)(4) of this section via order.
(1) A copy of all answers to requests for information
issued after docketing must be filed with the commission within 15
days after receipt of the request.
(2) An affected person may move to intervene in the
docket, and a hearing on the merits will be scheduled.
(3) The application will be processed in accordance
with the commission's rules applicable to docketed proceedings.
(i) Withdrawal of a service. When an applicant seeks
to withdraw a tariffed service, the application must be filed in accordance
with this subsection. An applicant must provide the following in its
application before withdrawing a service.
(1) The control number for the project where the tariff
was filed, including a hyperlink to the project;
(2) Proof of notice by the applicant, as required by
subsection (d), or as otherwise required by the presiding officer.
(3) The number of current customers in each exchange,
by customer class;
(4) The reason for withdrawing the service;
(5) Provisions for grandfathering each current customer
or for competitive alternatives available within the exchange locations,
including each alternative provided by the DCTU;
(6) Annual revenues for the last three years for the
service; and
(7) If the service has no current customers, the applicant
must provide an affidavit to this effect.
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