The Regulatory Mix, TMI’s daily blog of regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of a TMI Regulatory Bulletin.
TELECOM
FCC
The FCC announced that the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) has been rechartered and its Chair and members appointed. CSRIC V will hold its first meeting on June 24, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. in the FCC’s Meeting Room. Members of the general public may attend the meeting. The FCC will provide audio and/or video coverage of the meeting at www.fcc.gov/live.
Under its charter, the duties of CSRIC may include:
• Developing and recommending best practices, activities, and actions the FCC should take to: (1) promote reliable communications services, including 911, Enhanced 911, and Next Generation 911 service; and (2) make communications networks, including broadband networks and VoIP systems, more secure and resilient.
• Leveraging existing alerting platforms, developing recommendations for the FCC to enhance the utility of timely and accurate emergency alerts and warnings.
• Developing and providing recommendations to: (1) remove barriers and encourage sharing of cybersecurity information between companies in the communications sector; and (2)improve cyber workforce capacity building in support of the communications section and public safety, leveraging among other thing previous work by the National Institute for Cybersecurity Education.
Massachusetts
The Department of Telecommunications and Cable approved a petition to raise the E911 surcharge on an interim basis. In May a DTC Interim Order established an interim surcharge of $1.25 effective July 1, 2015. The current surcharge is $0.75. All communication service providers must provide notice to customers of the new surcharge amount through a bill insert, bill message, separate mailing, or similar means as soon as possible and no later than the July 2015 billing cycle. TMI Regulatory Bulletin Service subscribers see Bulletin dated 6/2/15.
New Mexico
The Public Regulation Commission granted a petition which will require all companies to file their Carrier Worksheets For New Mexico State Rural Universal Service Fund (USF) online. Commencing no later than July 1, 2015, all carriers that fund the New Mexico USF must file the information they are required to provide to the fund administrator (Solix) through Solix’s online reporting system (Universal Solutions Platform).
ENERGY
Pennsylvania
The PUC adopted final rules regarding implementation of PU Code Chapter 14, which addresses new utility reporting requirements and the new definition of medical certificate. The Order provides guidance to utilities for the new requirement that they report residential account balances that exceed $10,000. The PUC expects to address all clarification issues in an upcoming rulemaking to bring PU Code Chapter 56 into alignment with Act 155.
