ReopenCase.doc

Deputy Attorney General
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, ID 83720-0074
Tele: (208) 334-
Idaho Bar No. 3283
FAX: [phone]

Street Address for Express Mail:

472 W Washington
Boise, ID 83702-5983

Attorney for the Idaho Public Utilities Commission

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF U S WEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC. FOR AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES AND CHARGES FOR REGULATED TITLE 61 SERVICES.
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MOTION TO REOPEN CASE TO APPROVE A STIPULATION AND EXTEND THE TERMS OF AN ORDER

COMES now the Staff of the Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Rule 256 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, IDAPA 31.01.01.256 and files this Motion to Reopen Case No. USW-S-96-5 for a limited purpose. By its Motion, Staff requests the Commission reopen Case No. USW-S-96-5 to approve a Stipulation to Correct Toll Restriction Charges and to extend the terms of a final order issued in the case.
The Commission issued Order No. 27785 in Case No. USW-S-96-5 on October 27, 1998. The Order approved a Stipulation between Staff and U S WEST that resolved litigation over toll restriction charges. Specifically, the Order and Stipulation approved by it provide that “residential customers requesting toll restriction service [when] they initiate local service for the first time would not be charged the $13.50 non-recurring fee on a single residential line.” The Order also proscribed recurring and non-recurring charges for toll restriction service to customers eligible for the Idaho Telephone Assistance Program.
In December last year, Staff learned that Qwest (formerly U S WEST) had improperly charged toll restriction set-up fees in violation of Order No. 27785. During the June and July billing cycles, Qwest provided refunds to those individuals who currently are Qwest customers and who paid the set-up fee after October 1998. The total amount refunded to customers is $504,606.
Qwest also entered a Stipulation with Staff agreeing to deposit to an account identified by the Commission the amount of toll restriction fees that cannot be refunded. The Stipulation also provides that the terms of Order No. 27785 restricting toll restriction fees should be extended through calendar year 2002. By its terms, the provisions of Order No. 27785 were set to expire three years from its effective date (November 17, 1998). The Stipulation to Correct Toll Restriction Charges is attached to this Motion.
Staff requests that the Commission issue an Order reopening Case No. USW-S-96-5, approving the Stipulation to Correct Toll Restriction Charges, and extending the terms of Order No. 27785 through calendar year 2002.
RESPECTIVELY submitted this day of August 2001.

Weldon B. Stutzman
Deputy Attorney General

vld/N:USW-S-96-5_ws

MOTION TO REOPEN TO CASE APPROVE
A STIPULATION AND EXTEND THE
TERMS OF AN ORDER 2