20080527final_order_no_30555.pdf

Office ofthe Secretary
Service Date
May 27, 2008
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF
QWEST CORPORATION FOR
EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN
PROVISIONS OF RULE 201, IDAP
31.41.01.201.
CASE NO. QWE-08-
ORDER NO. 30555
On April 2, 2008, Qwest Corporation filed a Petition with the Commission seeking a
pennanent exemption from certain provisions of the Commission s Telephone Customer
Relations Rule 201 , IDAPA 31.41.01.201. In particular, Rule 201 pertains to the itemized
content of telephone bills for residential and small business customers. Qwest wishes to offer its
customers an optional "Summary Statement" in lieu of the detailed infonnation contained in the
Company s current bill. On April 23 , 2008 , the Commission issued a Notice of Petition and
Notice of Modified Procedure. The Notice set a deadline of May 14 2008, for filing comments
regarding the Petition. Commission Staff was the only party to file comments. Based on our
review of the record, we grant the exemption as conditioned below.
THE APPLICATION
The Company contends the Summary Statement option was created in response to
customer demand for simplified billing. In order to receive a Summary Statement, a customer
must affinnatively select the change to their billing statement. Customers who do not
affinnatively request a Summary Statement will continue to receive the standard bill, which
complies with the content requirements set forth in Rule 201 , IDAP A 31.41.01.201.
The Company asserts that customers who choose to receive a Summary Statement
may switch back to standard billing at any time, without charge or penalty.In addition
customers who have chosen a Summary Statement may still review the standard detailed billing
infonnation for their account on the Company s website at any time.
Telephone Customer Relations Rule 201 requires bills to include: Billing date; due
date; time period covered by the bill; total amount due; past due amounts; toll-free telephone
number for billing inquiries; an itemization of all non-recurring charges; and an itemization of
recurring charges such as monthly exchange service, equipment leases, taxes, surcharges, fees
and custom calling features. IDAPA 31.41.01.201.
ORDER NO. 30555
The Company claims that its proposed Summary Statement provides the most
important billing infonnation that customers are looking for, i., billing date, due date, total
amount due, past due amounts (if any), payments received since the prior billing, billing totals
for each class of service, summary of infonnation about taxes and surcharges , and infonnation
about service provided by third parties, including contact infonnation for questions regarding
third party billing.
The Petition states that the Company s objective is to provide customers with more
options and to respond to customer demand for simplified billing infonnation. The Company
asserts that strict adherence to the detailed requirements of Rule 201 would prohibit Qwest from
making an option available to customers that would reduce the volume and complexity of their
bills, thereby working a hardship on the Company and its customers. See IDAP A 31.41.01.009.
STAFF COMMENTS
Staff supports the Company s request for pennanent exemption from certain
provisions of Rule 201 , IDAPA 31.41.01.201 , with certain conditions. Staff recommends that
Qwest be granted an exemption to specific provisions of the rule that require detailed itemization
rather than a general exemption to the entire rule (specifically, subsections 201.01.j and
201.01.k). In addition, Staff recommends that the billing detail required by Rule 201 continue to
be available to customers without charge on Qwest's website or by telephone inquiry for a period
covering a minimum of 12 consecutive monthly billing statements. Staff believes that this
condition would allow customers to be able to obtain detailed billing infonnation for a
reasonable period oftime without placing any additional burdens on the Company.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
After examining the Petition and Staffs comments, the Commission finds, pursuant
to IDAPA 31.41.01.009, that Qwest's Petition for an exemption from the itemization provisions
of Rule 201 shall be granted as conditioned below. Following clarification from the Company,
the Commission grants Qwest a specific exemption to Rule 201.01.j, 201.01.k, and 201.02.
The Commission has considered the recommendations of Staff and we find that
providing access to a minimum of 12 consecutive monthly billing statements at no charge is
reasonable and will not place additional burdens on the Company. As a result, we condition the
pennanent exemption from certain provisions of Rule 201 on the Company making available
ORDER NO. 30555
without charge, the detailed itemization required by Rule 201 for a minimum of 12 consecutive
monthly billing statements.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Qwest Corporation s Petition for exemption from
certain provisions of Rule 201 , IDAP A 31.41.01.201 , be granted as conditioned and modified in
the body ofthis 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. Within seven (7)
days after any person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for
reconsideration. See Idaho Code g g 61-626 and 62-619.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this :z 1-f'A
day of May 2008.
MACK A. RED ORD , P SI E
~8kJL
MARSHA H. SMITH, COMMISSIONER
I:ds~JI . KEMPT , C MISSIONER
ATTEST:
Je D. Jewell
Co mission Secretary
O:QWE- T -08-02 - ks2
ORDER NO. 30555