20211129Final_Order_No_35234.pdf

ORDER NO. 35234 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
November 29, 2021
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

“On May 14, 2021, Columbine Telephone Company, Inc. dba Silver Star
Communications (“Company”) filed changes to its tariff with the Commission. Application at 1.
The Company proposed to change how the cost of a line extension will be shared between the
applicant and the Company. Id. The Company proposed a June 15, 2021, effective date for the
modified tariff. Id.
At the June 8, 2021, Decision Meeting, Commission Staff (“Staff”) noted the proposed
changes constitute an increase in rates and therefore should not be handled through a tariff advice.
Staff recommended the Commission initiate a formal proceeding to determine whether the
proposed tariffs comply with the Commission’s regulatory requirements.
On June 14, 2021, the Commission issued a Notice of Application, Suspension of
Proposed Effective Date, and Notice of Modified Procedure and converted the Company’s
proposed tariff modifications into an Application to be processed by Modified Procedure. The
Commission also suspended the Company’s proposed effective date for 60 days, and established
comment deadlines.
Staff filed comments on July 8, 2021. The Company filed reply comments on July 15,
2021. On August 16, 2021, the Commission issued a Notice of Continued Suspension of Effective
Date and Notice of Inquiry in Order No. 35133. The Commission noted that it had reviewed the
record and found it insufficient to allow the Company to implement its tariff changes. See Order
No. 35135 at 1. The Commission continued the suspension of the Company’s proposed effective
date for an additional 60 days and ordered the Company to respond to the matters posed by the
Commission in its Notice of Inquiry. Id. at 2.
On October 14, 2021, the Commission issued a Notice of Second Continued
Suspension of Effective Date. See Order No. 35195. The Company filed answers to the
IN THE MATTER OF COLUMBINE
TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC.’S
APPLICATION TO CHANGE THE MANNER
IN WHICH FACILITIES EXTENSIONS ARE
HANDLED
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CASE NO. COL-T-21-01

ORDER NO. 35234
ORDER NO. 35234 2

Commission’s Notice of Inquiry on October 12, 2021, just a few days before the October 15, 2021,
deadline. Id. at 1.
For the Commission to have adequate time to consider the Company’s answers before
the suspension of the Company’s proposed effective date expired, the Commission suspended the
effective date for an additional 60 days or until December 13, 2021, unless it issued an earlier order
accepting, rejecting, or modifying the Company’s Application. Id. at 1-2. No comments from the
public have been received in response to the Notice of Application. Order No. 35075.
Having reviewed the record, we now approve the Company’s Application as discussed
below.
THE APPLICATION
The Company’s existing tariff provides that a line extension will be provided without
charge to the applicant if the cost of the total extension does not exceed $1,600.00. Application at
11; ¶ 7.2. If the total extension exceeds $1,600.00, the “applicant will reimburse the Company the
total amount exceeding the established aid to construction in effect prior to construction.” Id.
Under the Company’s proposed tariff, a line extension “not exceeding 500 [feet] will
be furnished at a flat fee cost [of $350.00]….Where the total extension exceeds 500 [feet], the
applicant will pay the Company prior to construction the actual cost of [the line extension]
exceeding the 500 [feet] plus the flat fee cost.” Id. Under the proposed tariff, the applicant will be
responsible to provide trenching services. Id. at 13; ¶ 7.18. The Company is a Title-61 telephone
corporation. See Idaho Code § 61-121.
STAFF COMMENTS
Staff reviewed the line extension provisions in all Title-61 telephone company tariffs
as well as a few Title-62 telephone company tariffs. Staff Comments at 2. Based upon the record
at the time Staff’s Comments were submitted, Staff believed the Company’s proposed tariff
effectively increased a charge. Id. As such, Staff explained that the Company bears the burden of
showing why its proposed charge was just and reasonable. Id. See Idaho Code §§ 61-301 and 61-
303; IDAPA 31.01.01.052. The Company’s Application, filed as a tariff advice, did not provide
justification for the increased charge. Staff Comments at 2. Nor was Staff aware of any
circumstances that justified the Company having a line-extension charge structure so different
from the industry norm. Id. at 2-3.

ORDER NO. 35234 3

COMPANY’S COMMENTS
As noted in the Company’s tariff advice filing made on May 14, 2021, the Company
claimed that the purposes of the proposed changes were to: (1) simplify the drop extension process
to the customer; and (2) substantially decrease the delivery time of services to the customer.
Company Reply Comments at 1. These changes were developed in part based on customer request
and feedback that the current process is complicated and hinders customers’ timely access to
services. Id.
The Company asserted that a flat fee substantially simplified the customer process by
eliminating the need for multiple site visits, extension cost calculations, and customer pre-payment
of costs exceeding the $1,600 aid to construction prior to construction completion and any resulting
true-up. Id. In turn, a simplified process substantially decreases the time to deliver services, down
from two-three weeks to two-three days. Id.
The Company noted that its analysis showed that a majority of customer extensions do
exceed the stated aid amount, ranging from $500 to $1,200, with the average line extension
exceeding the aid to construct by approximately $400. Id. at 1-2. Further, the Company responded
that the proposed changes do not increase a charge because the average amount a customer will
pay for a line extension is $400 and the Company proposed a flat fee of $350 and so the proposed
change effectively decreases a charge. Id. at 2.
The Company also noted that its proposed changes seek to align its operations across
the jurisdictions in which it provided service, and these changes do align with its commission-
approved practice in Wyoming. Id.
On October 12, 2021, the Company filed a response to the Commission’s Notice of
Inquiry.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
The Commission has jurisdiction in this matter under Idaho Code §§ 61-301, 303, and
501. The statutes vest the Commission with the authority and jurisdiction to supervise and regulate
every public utility in the state and that all charges made be just and reasonable.
The Company’s Application, filed as a tariff advice, did not provide sufficient
justification and verification supporting changes in their line extension policies. However, based
upon our review of the Application, Staff comments, the Company’s reply comments, and the
additional information provided by the Company in its response to the Notice of Inquiry, the
ORDER NO. 35234 4

Commission finds that the Company has now met its burden of showing why its proposed charges
are just and reasonable. The Company provided sufficient verification to support that their new
line extension policies decrease the overall charges to the Company’s customers. Line extensions
between 150-500 feet for copper and between 115-500 feet for fiber will be much less expensive
than the existing policy. The new line extension policy will cost more than the existing policy if
the extension is shorter than 150 feet for copper and shorter than 115 feet for fiber. However, in
general, the average line extensions over the past 5 years have exceeded those distances.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company’s Application is approved, effective
upon the service date of this Order.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order with regard to any
matter decided in this Order in Case No. COL-T-21-01. Within seven (7) days after any person
has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. See
Idaho Code §§ 61-626 and 62-619.
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ORDER NO. 35234 5

DONE by order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 29th day
of November 2021.

PAUL KJELLANDER, PRESIDENT

KRISTINE RAPER, COMMISSIONER

ERIC ANDERSON, COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

I:\Legal\TELECOM\COL-T-21-01\orders\COLT2101_final_es.docx