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Chairman Thomas Reviews PUC’s 2001 Accomplishments

Published on 12/19/2001

Filed under: Electric Gas Water and Wastewater Telecommunications Transportation and Safety

HARRISBURG -- At the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) final public meeting of the year, Chairman Glen R. Thomas today reviewed the Commission’s 2001 accomplishments, including new efforts to protect critical utility infrastructure; state recognition for the PUC’s Medallion taxi program; national recognition for the Electric Choice consumer-education efforts; and actions to enhance utility competition in Pennsylvania.

"The PUC in 2001 took its mission of ensuring safe, reliable and reasonably priced electric, natural gas, water, telephone and transportation service for Pennsylvania consumers to new heights," Chairman Thomas said. "And we furthered our work as responsible stewards of competition by reaching important new milestones related to electric, natural gas and telephone choice. Here is just a sample of what the Commission accomplished this year:

  • "We remain the national leader for electric competition, and the world watches us intently to see what we will do next. Nearly 120,000 Pennsylvanians now use green power -- more than any other state. And with new wind farms that opened this fall, Pennsylvania solidified our status as the East Coast leader for wind power;
  • "Pennsylvania continues to work closely with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on issues surrounding the formation of a Northeast Regional Transmission Organization (RTO). We believe that if a Northeast RTO is established properly, FERC can make our market -- and our region’s market -- even stronger. This promotion underscores the PUC’s work on a regional and national level to protect and advocate for Pennsylvania’s interests;
  • "USA Today earlier this year said Pennsylvania set the standard for consumer education related to electric competition. We are working to repeat that performance with telephone and natural gas choice consumer education in 2002;
  • "I am happy to report that a dramatic decline in wholesale natural gas prices and significant increases in natural gas storage levels should create greater opportunities for the state’s consumers to save money this winter. Already, more than 250,000 customers have exercised their option to choose an alternative natural gas supplier;
  • "Since 1993, Pennsylvania has been a leader in telecommunications. This year, we moved forward aggressively to enhance that status. The Federal Communications Commission and the PUC approved the application of Verizon Long Distance to sell long-distance telephone service in Pennsylvania, ending a six-year campaign to restructure Pennsylvania’s electricity, natural gas and telephone utilities. We recently released proposed guidelines to make it easier for consumers to switch local service providers and enjoy the benefits of competition. We outlined proposed rules to safeguard telephone competition by prohibiting local telephone companies from using their market power to unfairly favor or promote their own retail services over those of their competitors. And we asked the public and the telecommunications industry to submit suggestions on whether the PUC should create a standard method for comparing local telephone offers and, if so, how the standard should be structured;
  • "The Commission took a giant step toward slowing the proliferation of area codes in Pennsylvania by requiring telephone carriers in both Southeastern and Western Pennsylvania to share and use their current numbering resources through thousands-block number pooling. Because of pooling, the already existing numbering resources are being more efficiently used without the need to deplete the area codes. For example, carriers in the 610/484 area code are sharing more than 3 million numbers; carriers in the 412 area code are sharing 937,000 numbers; and carriers in the 724 area code are sharing almost 2 million numbers. Without pooling, all of these numbers would have been stranded. In 2002, the Commission expects to implement pooling in the rest of its area codes (717, 570, 814 and 215/267);
  • "Pennsylvania’s preparedness in the aftermath of Sept. 11 is very high, thanks in part to the extra vigilance among utilities, and state and local officials to safeguard the utility infrastructure on which all Pennsylvanians depend. I assure you that the Commission’s efforts regarding security are not ending with the Governor’s Task Force on Security. In the coming months and years, I again will call upon the expertise of our internal group to assist with critical projects. For instance, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed House Resolution 361 which requires the Commission, in conjunction with PEMA, to conduct a comprehensive review of the Commonwealth's infrastructure security. We look forward to working with the various utilities to carry out this important mission. The Commission also has taken steps to ensure the security of sensitive documents;
  • "Our Medallion program, which regulates 1,600 taxis in Philadelphia, was commended by a report adopted by the General Assembly Legislative Budget and Finance Committee. We agree that the Medallion program, initiated in 1990, has been largely successful in achieving its goal to upgrade and improve the quality of taxi service in Philadelphia. And, in Pittsburgh, our Bureau of Transportation and Safety became a partner in an initiative to enhance the quality of taxi service in Pittsburgh, including a new hospitality training and incentive program that rewards drivers’ outstanding service;
  • "Twenty-five delegations from 25 countries visited the Commission this year. As of this week, 120 foreign delegations from 61 countries and five continents have visited the PUC to date. Our Bureau of Conservation, Economics and Energy Planning has coordinated training for more than 500 high-level foreign professionals about what we do and the success of such initiatives as electric competition and the way we regulate small water companies;
  • "And the PUC’s Bureau of Consumer Services (BCS) operates a hotline to report utility-related problems. Last year, 79 percent of callers said they received ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ service by the PUC hotline, and rated the information provided as ‘very easy to understand’ or ‘fairly easy to understand.’ And 85 percent of consumers said they would contact the PUC again if necessary. The completion rate for calls to the Bureau of Consumer Services’ informal complaint line has improved, averaging 95 percent for 11 months in 2001. The number of customers served on the BCS toll-free lines has increased, including low-income consumers who are provided with Universal Service information."

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