December 28, 2020 3:45 a.m.
The Oregon Public Utilities Commission has approved an agreement, regarding access to alternate service for certain telecommunications customers impacted by recent wildfires, while their landline telephone service is being restored.
A release from the Oregon Public Utilities Commission said the agreement was reached by PUC staff and the Oregon Citizen’s Utility Board, working on behalf of customers, and Lumen, the parent company of Century Tel of Oregon, United Telephone Company of the Northwest, and Qwest Corporation. The businesses provide service under the brand of CenturyLink.
The release said the agreement was reached as part of a PUC investigation into the company’s efforts to restore service after the devastating wildfires in early September.
PUC Chair Megan Decker said the PUC opened an investigation in early November because customers complained that landline telephone service had not been restored to them in the months since the Labor Day fires. Decker said in many instances, the areas where the outages occurred have little or no cell reception, making landline restoration even more crucial to those communities.
The release said the agreement provides for temporary alternative service options through the provision of limited satellite phone usage. It also establishes a defined time period for landline service restoration, with specific consequences in the event the timeline is not reached.
The agreement stipulates that the companies will:
*Continue working to restore voice telephone service, with service to be restored no later than February 12, 2021, to all wildfire-impacted customers who reported an outage any time after September 6th. In the event there is a delay in restoration efforts beyond that date, impacted customers will receive a $100 bill credit each week service is not restored beyond that date.
*While service restoration continues, customers whose service has not been restored are eligible to immediately request a satellite phone from a designated service provider for temporary use. The cost of the phone will be reimbursed through bill credits or through a prepaid card. Customers will receive 90 minutes of talk time to be used until service is restored by February 12th. If restoration of permanent service is not completed by that date, customers will receive an additional 60 minutes per week for each additional week without permanent service.
Customers with questions can contact: puc.consumer@state.or.us.