FairPoint asks for penalty break
FairPoint Communications has asked state utilities regulators to reduce penalties it faces for service quality problems following its 2008 purchase of Verizon's landlines.
Earlier this month, the North Carolina-based company filed a petition with the Public Utilities Commission asking it to change the formula that sets penalties for failure to meet quality indicators, a formula already in place when the landline purchase was made, according to Capitol News Service. FairPoint is currently paying a fine for 2008 service problems and will likely pay a fine for 2009. Maine Public Advocate Richard Davies, whose office is reviewing the petition, estimated the penalty would be $10 million. In December, the PUC ordered FairPoint to pay $8 million through rebates to its customers of $1.72 per line.
FairPoint spokesman Jeff Nevins told the news service the company is not looking to escape those penalties, but "asking them to waive the multiplier effect that was put in effect before FairPoint was the owner of the landlines." Nevins said the company has made progress in improving its service quality and that the level of penalty currently proposed is not warranted, according to the news service.
FairPoint filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and filed its reorganization plan in February.
Go to the article from Capitol News Service >>
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