Press Release

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved the contribution rates of eight counties and one city for local 911 systems.

The PUC approved the 911 System Renewal Plans received from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) for Cambria, York, Wayne, Carbon, Westmoreland, Butler, Philadelphia, and Cumberland counties and for the city of Pittsburgh.

The Public Safety Emergency Telephone Act of 1990 provides for a statewide 911 emergency communication system to be administered by PEMA. The law allows counties to recover the cost for 911 systems by assessing a fee on every telephone line. The local phone companies collect the fees for the county. The maximum fee that can be collected per telephone line is $1 for first and second class counties, $1.25 for third through fifth class counties and $1.50 for sixth through eight class counties.

Cambria County, a fourth class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.25 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 163,029. Bell Atlantic, GTE and ALLTEL serve the county.

York County, a third class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.25 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 383,600. Four local exchange carriers, including GTE, Bell Atlantic, Sprint and Commonwealth Telephone, and four competitive local exchange carriers, including Capital Communications, CTSI, Hyperion Susquehanna Telecommunications, and Metro-Teleconnect, serve the county.

Wayne County, a seventh class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.50 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 43,030. Bell Atlantic, GTE, Hancock Telephone Company, North-Eastern PA Telephone, South Canaan Telephone, NorthEast Telephone, Adelphia Hyperion Communications, CTSE, Metro-Teleconnect and ATX serve the county.

Carbon County, a sixth class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.50 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 56,846. Bell Atlantic, GTE, ALLTEL, Palmerton Telephone and Commonwealth Telephone Company serve the county.

Westmoreland County, a third class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.25 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 374,673. The county is served by Bell Atlantic, GTE, ALLTEL, Citizens Telephone, Laurel Highland Telephone, and Yukon Waltz Telephone Company.

Butler County, a fifth class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 162,000. Bell Atlantic, Sprint, North Pittsburgh Telephone, AT&T, and TCG serve the county.

Philadelphia County, a first class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 1,436,287. Bell Atlantic, PECO Hyperion, Teligent, Sprint, CTSI, ATX, Focal, AT&T, Northeast Telephone, Energy Resources, Pa Telecom, MCI and Nextlink Pennsylvania serve the county.

Cumberland County, a fourth class county, is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1.25 per access line per month. The county has a population of approximately 210,860. Bell Atlantic, GTE, Sprint, Capital Telecommunications, Advance Communications Solutions, Nextlink, CTSI, Hyperion Telecommunications, Metro-Teleconnect Companies, ALLTEL, PCS ONE, AT&T Wireless Services and NEXTEL serve the county.

The city of Pittsburgh is not requesting any change in the current contribution rate of $1 per access line per month. The city has a population of approximately 369,879. The city is served by Bell, Second Century, Telegent, Intermedia, Full Service, Choice One, Global Crossing, AT&T and Metro Teleconnect.

The PUC is responsible for reviewing the contribution rate requested by the counties and forwarding a decision to PEMA. The PUC has 90 days to submit its recommendations to PEMA as to whether the counties proposed contribution rates should be approved or modified. The plan and the surcharge are effective from the date of the PUC order for a period of three years.

For recent news releases, or more information about the PUC, visit our Internet homepage: http://puc.paonline.com.

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Cambria County Docket No. M-00920316
York County Docket No. M-00930385
Wayne County Docket No. M-00930438
Carbon County Docket No. M-00920381
Westmoreland County Docket No. M-00920323
Butler County Docket No. M-00920314
Philadelphia County Docket No. M-00930392
Cumberland County Docket No. M-00920366
City of Pittsburgh Docket No. M

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