20220713Final_Order_No_35460.pdf

ORDER NO. 35460 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
July 13, 2022
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

On May 25, 2021, EarthGrid PBC (“Company”) applied for a Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity (“CPCN”) to provide resold and facilities-based local exchange
telecommunication services and internet services in Idaho.
On June 17, 2021, the Commission issued Notice of Application and Notice of Modified
Procedure and set deadlines for public comments and the Company’s reply. Order No. 35080.
Commission Staff (“Staff”) filed the only comments in this case. The Company did not respond.
On October 6, 2021, the Commission issued a final order conditionally granting the
Company’s Application contingent on certain conditions. Order No. 35192.
On April 14, 2022, the Company filed a final price list outlining all its terms, rates, and
conditions with the Commission.
On April 27, 2022, Staff filed a Decision Memorandum (“Memo”) recommending the
Commission grant the Company a CPCN and change the required reporting dates. The
Commission did not address the Memo during the Decision Meeting.
With this Order, we deny the Company’s Application without prejudice.
BACKGROUND
As put forth in the Company’s Application, and reiterated by the Commission:
The Company [sought] a CPCN to provide facilities-based and resold basic local
exchange telecommunication services to business and municipal customers in
Idaho through incumbent local exchange carriers. The Company plan[ned] to
obtain interconnection agreements with customers.

The Company intend[ed] to provide traditional landline service to customers with
applications including elevators, renewable energy facilities, and security systems.
The Company also plan[ned] to offer high-speed internet via fiber-based services.
The Company’s underlying carrier w[ould] handle operator assisted services and
emergency call services.
IN THE MATTER OF EARTHGRID’S
APPLICATION TO PROVIDE BASIC
RESOLD AND FACILITIES-BASED LOCAL
EXCHANGE TELECOMMUNICATION
SERVICES IN THE STATE OF IDAHO
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CASE NO. EPC-T-21-01

ORDER NO. 35460
ORDER NO. 35460 2
The Company . . . w[ould] be subject to numbering conservation measures and
w[ould] operate its local exchange services on a de-tariffed basis with its rates,
terms, and conditions posted on its website.

The Company intend[ed] to offer service in geographic areas currently served by
CenturyLink and other providers.

Order No. 35192 at 1-2. The Commission approved the Company’s Application and
granted it a CPCN contingent on five conditions. Condition three required the Company to file a
final price list outlining all its rates, terms, and conditions prior to issuance of a CPCN. Id. at 3.
Condition four required the Company to provide “three reports to the Commission indicating the
number of basic local exchange customers it has and the services being offered.” Id. These reports
were due November 12, 2021, March 11, 2022, and July 15, 2022.
The Company did not file a price list until April 14, 2022 and has yet to file any of the
three required reports.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
We note that the Company did not file a final price list, as it was ordered to, before two of
its three reports were due. The Company took over five months from the issuance of Order No.
35192 to file a final price list, and did not file a November 12, 2021, or March 11, 2022, report
“indicating the number of basic local exchange customers it has and the services being offered” as
directed in Order No. 35192. The Company could have communicated to the Commission which
circumstances were preventing it from filing its final price list. The Company could have requested
additional time to file the reports or explained to the Commission its plan to make meaningful
progress in satisfying the conditions necessary to obtain a CPCN. It did none of these things. Now,
seven months after being ordered to file three reports, the Company still has not complied. We
have reservations granting the Company a CPCN when it failed to comply with the directives in
Order No. 35192 to file a final price list in a reasonable time and has yet to file any reports.
The Company does not have a CPCN so there is no CPCN for us to revoke. However,
because the Company has not demonstrated its intent to comply with our directives in Order No.
35192, we issue this Order denying the Company’s Application, without prejudice. The Company
is free to reapply for a CPCN in Idaho if it so chooses and is committed to complying with the
requirements this Commission has established as a condition precedent to issuing a CPCN.

ORDER NO. 35460 3
O R D E R

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company’s Application for a CPCN is denied without
prejudice.
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. Within seven (7)
days after any person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for
reconsideration. See Idaho Code §§ 61-626.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 13th day of
July 2022.

__________________________________________
ERIC ANDERSON, PRESIDENT

__________________________________________
JOHN CHATBURN, COMMISSIONER

__________________________________________
JOHN R. HAMMOND, JR. COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

_____________________
Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

I:\Legal\TELECOM\EPC-T-21-01\orders\EPCT2101_final_order_rn.docx