Part II.
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Chapter 23.
Substantive Rules
Subchapter C. Rates
16 TAC §§23.24, 23.25, 23.26, 23.27, 23.28
The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopts the repeal
of §23.24, relating to Form and Filing of Tariffs, §23.25, relating
to Procedures Applicable to Chapter 58-Electing Incumbent Local Exchange Companies
(ILECs), §23.26, relating to New and Experimental Services, §23.27,
relating to Rate-Setting Flexibility for Services Subject to Significant Competitive
Challenges, and §23.28, relating to Promotional Rates for LEC Services
with no changes to the proposed text as published in the January 1, 1999,
Under Project Number 20074, the commission adopted new §25.241 relating
to Form and Filing of Tariffs to replace §23.24 as it relates to electric
service providers. Under Project Number 20075, the commission adopted §§26.207-26.212
concerning tariffs for telecommunications service providers to replace §§23.24-23.28.
The commission received no comments on the proposed repeal.
This repeal is adopted under the Public Utility Regulatory Act,
Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998) (PURA) which provides
the commission with the authority to make and enforce rules reasonably required
in the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction.
Cross-Index to Statutes: Public Utility Regulatory Act §14.002.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on .June
2, 1999.
TRD-9903256
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Effective date: June 22, 1999
Proposal publication date: January 1, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7308
16 TAC §23.50
The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopts the repeal
of §23.50, relating to Central System or Nonsubmetered Master Metered
Utilities with no changes to the proposed text as published in the March 12,
1999
Texas Register
(24 TexReg 1713). The
repeal is necessary to avoid duplicative rule sections. The commission has
adopted §25.141 of this title (relating to Central System or Nonsubmetered
Master Metered Utilities) to replace §23.50. This repeal is adopted under
Project Number 17709.
The commission received no comments on the proposed repeal.
This repeal is adopted under the Public Utility Regulatory Act,
Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998) (PURA) which provides
the commission with the authority to make and enforce rules reasonably required
in the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction.
Cross-Index to Statutes: Public Utility Regulatory Act §14.002.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on .June
2, 1999.
TRD-9903258
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Effective date: June 22, 1999
Proposal publication date: March 12, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7308
16 TAC §23.104
The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopts the repeal
of §23.104 relating to Telecommunications Pricing with no changes to
the proposal as published in the February 5, 1999
Texas Register
(24 TexReg 661). The repeal is necessary to avoid duplicative
rule sections. The commission has adopted §26.213 of this title (relating
to Telecommunications Pricing) to replace §23.104. This repeal is adopted
under Project Number 18846.
The commission received no comments on the proposed repeal.
This repeal is adopted under the Public Utility Regulatory Act,
Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998) (PURA) which provides
the commission with the authority to make and enforce rules reasonably required
in the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June
2, 1999.
TRD-9903260
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Effective date: June 22, 1999
Proposal publication date: February 5, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7308
Subchapter G. Submetering
16 TAC §25.141
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (commission) adopts
new §25.141 relating to Central System or Nonsubmetered Master Metered
Utilities with changes to the proposed text as published in the March 12,
1999
Texas Register
(24 TexReg 1714).
This section is necessary to assure that billing systems or methods used
by an apartment house owner to prorate or allocate among tenants central system
utility cost or nonsubmetered master metered utility service costs are just
and reasonable. This section is required by the Texas Utilities Code, §184.052
(Vernon 1998). This section replaces §23.50 of this title (relating to
Central System or Nonsubmetered Master Metered Utilities). This section is
adopted under Project Number 17709.
The Appropriations Act of 1997, House Bill 1, Article IX, §167 (Section
167) requires that each state agency review and consider for readoption each
rule adopted by that agency pursuant to the Government Code, Chapter 2001
(Administrative Procedure Act). Such reviews shall include, at a minimum,
an assessment by the agency as to whether the reason for adopting or readopting
the rule continues to exist. The commission held three workshops to conduct
a preliminary review of its rules. As a result of these workshops, the commission
is reorganizing its current substantive rules located in 16 Texas Administrative
Code (TAC) Chapter 23 to: (1) satisfy the requirements of §167; (2) repeal
rules no longer needed; (3) update existing rules to reflect changes in the
industries regulated by the commission; (4) do clean-up amendments made necessary
by changes in law and commission organizational structure and practices; (5)
reorganize rules into new chapters to facilitate future amendments and provide
room for expansion; and (6) reorganize the rules according to the industry
to which they apply. Chapter 25 has been established for all commission substantive
rules applicable to electric service providers.
The commission requested specific comments on the §167 requirement
as to whether the reason for adopting or readopting the rule continues to
exist. The commission received no comments on the §167 requirement. The
commission finds that the reason for adopting this section continues to exist.
The commission received comments on the proposed section from Texas Apartment
Association (TAA).
The commission proposed subsection (e)(4)(C) that requires apartment owners
to meet the same requirements as electric utilities for disconnection of the
ill and disabled, energy assistance grantees, and disconnection during extreme
weather conditions. This requirement was made by referencing §25.29(g),
(h) and (i) of this title (relating to Disconnection of Service). TAA agreed
that this was a reasonable requirement, but requested that these provisions
be explicitly stated in §25.141 instead of by referencing §25.29.
Ordinarily, incorporation of another rule by reference avoids inconsistency.
However, since apartment owners may not be familiar with other commission
rules, the commission has made the change requested by TAA.
This section is adopted under the Public Utility Regulatory Act,
Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998) (PURA) which provides
the commission with the authority to make and enforce rules reasonably required
in the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction, and specifically Texas Utilities
Code §184.052 which requires the commission to adopt rules governing
billing systems or methods used by an apartment house owner to prorate or
allocate among tenants central system utility costs or nonsubmetered master
metered utility service costs.
§25.141. Central System or Nonsubmetered Master Metered Utilities.
(a)
Purpose and scope.
(1)
The provisions of this section are intended to assure
that billing systems involving central system or nonsubmetered master metered
utilities are just and reasonable.
(2)
For purposes of enforcement, both utilities and apartment
house owners are subject to enforcement pursuant to the Public Utility Regulatory
Act §§15.021, 15.022, 15.028, 15.029, 15.030, 15.031, 15.032, and
15.033, which may involve civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each offense
and criminal penalties for willful and knowing violations.
(b)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used
in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1)
Apartment house - One or more buildings containing two
or more dwelling units rented primarily for nontransient use with rent paid
at intervals of one week or longer.
(2)
Apartment house owner - The legal titleholder of
an apartment house or an individual, firm, or corporation purporting to be
the landlord of tenants in the apartment house.
(3)
Billing unit - Kilowatt-hour for electric service.
(4)
Central system utilities - Electricity consumed by
a central air conditioning system, central heating system, central hot water
system, or central chilled water system in an apartment house. The term does
not include utilities directly consumed by a dwelling unit.
(5)
Customer - The individual, firm, or corporation in
whose name a master meter is connected by a utility.
(6)
Dwelling unit - One or more rooms that are suitable
for occupancy as a residence and that contain kitchen and bathroom facilities.
(7)
Nonsubmetered master metered utility service - Electric
utility service that is master metered for an apartment house but is not submetered.
(8)
Utility - A public, private, or member-owned utility
furnishing electricity service to an apartment house served by a master meter.
(c)
Records and reports.
(1)
The apartment house owner shall maintain and make available
for inspection by the tenant during normal business hours:
(A)
the billing from the utility to the apartment house owner
for the current month and the 12 preceding months; and
(B)
the calculation of the average cost per billing unit (kilowatt-hour)
for the current month and the 12 preceding months which was used in assessing
tenant utility billings. The average cost per billing unit shall be equal
to the charges for the utility service plus applicable tax, less any penalties
charged by the utility to the apartment house owner for disconnect, reconnect,
late payment or other similar service charges, divided by the total number
of billing units.
(2)
All records shall be made available to the commission
upon request.
(3)
Records shall be made available at the resident manager's
office during reasonable business hours or, if there is no resident manager,
at the dwelling unit of the tenant at the convenience of both the apartment
house owner and the tenant.
(d)
Calculation of costs. Central system utilities costs shall
be calculated based on metered billing units of the central system during
the same billing period as that of the utility. The metered billing units
of the central system shall be multiplied by the average cost per billing
calculated according to subsection (c)(1)(B) of this section. Meters used
for central system utilities shall conform to all applicable industry standards.
The cost of nonsubmetered master metered utilities shall be the total charges
for utility service to the apartment house less any penalties charged by the
utility to the apartment house owner for disconnect, reconnect, late payment
or other similar service charges.
(e)
Billing. All rental agreements between the apartment house
owner and the tenants shall provide a clear written description of the method
of the allocation of central system utilities or nonsubmetered master metered
utilities for the apartment house. The method of allocation may be changed
only after 90 days notice of the change to the tenants. The rental agreement
for each apartment unit shall contain a statement of the average monthly bill
for the previous calendar year for that apartment unit. If there is no rental
agreement, apartment house owners shall provide the method of allocation in
a separate written document.
(1)
Rendering and form of bill.
(A)
Bills shall be rendered for the same billing period as
that of the utility, generally monthly, unless service is rendered for less
than that period.
(B)
The allocation of central system utilities costs or nonsubmetered
master metered utilities costs to tenants shall be based on one or a combination
of the following methods.
(i)
the total square footage living area of the dwelling unit
as a percentage of the total square footage living area of all dwelling units
of the apartment house and all heated and/or air conditioned common areas.
This percentage shall be stated in the rental agreement for each dwelling
unit; and
(ii)
the individually metered or submetered utility usage
of the dwelling unit as a percentage of the sum of the individually metered
or submetered usage of all dwelling units.
(C)
Methods to allocate central system utility costs or nonsubmetered
master metered utilities to tenants, other than the method outlined in this
section, must be approved by the commission.
(D)
Billings to the tenant shall not be included as part of
the rental payment or as part of billings for any other service to the tenant.
A separate billing must be issued or, if issued on a multi-item bill, utility
billing information must be separate and distinct from any other charges on
the bill. The bill may not include a deposit, late penalty, reconnect charge,
or any other charges unless otherwise provided for by this chapter.
(i)
A one-time penalty not to exceed 5.0% may be made on delinquent
accounts. If such penalty is applied, the bill shall indicate the amount due
if paid by the due date and the amount due if the late penalty is incurred.
No late penalty may be applied unless agreed to by the tenant in a written
lease which states the exact dollar or percentage amount of such late penalty.
(ii)
A reconnect fee may be applied if service to the tenant
is disconnected for nonpayment of submetered bills in accordance with paragraph
(4)(A) of this subsection. The reconnect fee shall be calculated based on
the average actual cost to the landlord for the expenses associated with the
reconnection, but under no circumstance shall exceed $10. No reconnect charge
may be applied unless agreed to by the tenant in a written lease which states
the exact dollar amount of the reconnect charge.
(E)
An apartment house owner may not impose additional charges
on a tenant in excess of the actual charges imposed on the apartment house
owner for utility consumption by the apartment house.
(2)
Due date. The due date of the bill shall not
be less than seven days after issuance. A bill for service is delinquent if
not received by the party indicated on the bill by the due date. The postmark
date, if any, on the envelope of the bill or on the bill itself shall constitute
proof of the date of issuance. An issuance date on the bill shall constitute
proof of the date of issuance if there is no postmark on the envelope or bill.
If the due date falls on a holiday or weekend, the due date for payment purposes
shall be the next workday after the due date.
(3)
Overbilling and underbilling. If billings are found
to be in error, the apartment house owner shall calculate a billing adjustment.
If the tenant is due a refund, an adjustment shall be made for the entire
period of the overcharges. If the tenant was undercharged, the apartment house
owner may backbill the tenant for the amount which was underbilled. The backbilling
is not to exceed six months unless the apartment house owner can produce records
to identify and justify the additional amount of backbilling. If the underbilling
is $25 or more, the apartment house owner shall offer to such tenant a deferred
payment plan option, for the same length of time as that of the underbilling.
However, the apartment house owner may not disconnect service if the tenant
fails to pay charges arising from an underbilling more than six months prior
to the date the tenant was initially notified of the amount of the undercharges
and the total additional amount due. Furthermore, adjustments for usage by
a previous tenant may not be backbilled to the current tenant.
(4)
Discontinuance of service.
(A)
Disconnection for delinquent bills. Utility service may
only be disconnected for nonpayment of utility bills. A tenant's utility service
may be disconnected if a bill has not been paid within 12 days from the date
of issuance and proper notice has been given. Proper notice shall consist
of a separate mailing or hand delivery at least five days prior to a stated
date of disconnection, with the words "termination notice" or similar language
prominently displayed on the notice. The notice shall include the office or
street address where a tenant can go during normal working hours to make arrangements
for payment of the bill and for reconnection of electric service.
(B)
Disconnection on holidays or weekends. Unless a dangerous
condition exists, or unless the tenant requests disconnection, service shall
not be disconnected on a day, or on a day immediately preceding a day when
personnel of the apartment house are not available for the purpose of making
collections and reconnecting service.
(C)
Disconnection under special circumstances. An apartment
house owner shall meet the same requirements as an electric utility in the
following circumstances:
(i)
Disconnection of ill and disabled. No electric utility
may disconnect service at a permanent, individually metered dwelling unit
of a delinquent customer when that customer establishes that disconnection
of service will cause some person residing at that residence to become seriously
ill or more seriously ill;
(I)
Each time a customer seeks to avoid disconnection of service
under this subsection, the customer must accomplish all of the following by
the stated date of disconnection:
(-a-)
have the person's attending physician (for purposes
of this subsection, the term "physician" shall mean any public health official,
including medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, nurse practitioners, registered
nurses, and any other similar public health official) call or contact the
electric utility by the stated date of disconnection;
(-b-)
have the person's attending physician submit a
written statement to the electric utility; and
(-c-)
enter into a deferred payment plan.
(II)
The prohibition against service termination provided
by this subsection shall last 63 days from the issuance of the electric utility
bill or a shorter period agreed upon by the electric utility and the customer
or physician.
(ii)
Disconnection of energy assistance clients. No electric
utility may terminate service to a delinquent residential customer for a billing
period in which the electric utility receives a pledge, letter of intent,
purchase order, or other notification that the energy assistance provider
is forwarding sufficient payment to continue service; and
(iii)
Disconnection during extreme weather. An electric utility
cannot disconnect a customer anywhere in its service territory on a day when:
(I)
the previous day's highest temperature did not exceed
32 degrees Fahrenheit, and the temperature is predicted to remain at or below
that level for the next 24 hours, according to the nearest National Weather
Service (NWS) reports; or
(II)
the NWS issues a heat advisory for any county in the
electric utility's service territory, or when such advisory has been issued
on any one of the preceding two calendar days.
(D)
Disputed bills and complaints. In the event of a dispute
between the tenant and the apartment house owner regarding any bill, the apartment
house owner shall immediately make such investigation as shall be required
by the particular case, and report the results thereof to the tenant. The
investigation and report shall be completed within 30 days from the date the
tenant notified the apartment house owner of the dispute. If the tenant is
dissatisfied with the results of the investigation, the apartment house owner
shall inform the tenant of the Public Utility Commission of Texas complaint
process, giving the tenant the address and telephone number of the commission's
Office of Customer Protection.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption
has been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the
agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June
2, 1999.
TRD-9903257
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Effective date: June 22, 1999
Proposal publication date: March 12, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7308
16 TAC §25.241
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (commission) adopts
new §25.241 relating to Form and Filing of Tariffs with changes to the
proposed text as published in the January 1, 1999
Texas Register
(24 TexReg 20). The rule is necessary to clarify the
commission's requirements relating to the form and filing of tariffs, and
replaces §23.24 of this title (relating to Form and Filing of Tariffs)
as it relates to electric service providers. This new section is adopted under
Project Number 20074.
The Appropriations Act of 1997, HB 1, Article IX, Section 167 (Section
167) requires that each state agency review and consider for readoption each
rule adopted by that agency pursuant to the Government Code, Chapter 2001
(Administrative Procedure Act). Such reviews shall include, at a minimum,
an assessment by the agency as to whether the reason for adopting or readopting
the rule continues to exist. The commission held three workshops to conduct
a preliminary review of its rules. As a result of these workshops, the commission
is reorganizing its current substantive rules located in 16 Texas Administrative
Code (TAC) Chapter 23 to (1) satisfy the requirements of Section 167; (2)
repeal rules no longer needed; (3) update existing rules to reflect changes
in the industries regulated by the commission; (4) do clean-up amendments
made necessary by changes in law and commission organizational structure and
practices; (5) reorganize rules into new chapters to facilitate future amendments
and provide room for expansion; and (6) reorganize the rules according to
the industry to which they apply. Chapter 25 has been established for all
commission substantive rules applicable to electric service providers.
The commission requested specific comments on the Section 167 requirement
as to whether the reason for adopting or readopting the rule continues to
exist. The commission received no comments regarding the Section 167 requirement.
The commission finds that the reason for adopting the rule continues to exist.
The commission received comments on the proposed new section from Central
and South West Texas Electric Utility Operating Companies (CSW Companies).
CSW Companies disagreed with the deletion of existing §23.24(h) from
the proposed new rule. Present rule §23.24(h) requires that tariffs not
found in compliance by the commission shall be marked and returned to the
utility with a brief explanation of the reasons for rejection. The CSW Companies
stated that "this requirement is a helpful one, allowing regulated companies
to understand current compliance interpretations by the Commission Staff and
to promptly and completely correct tariff".
The commission agrees with CSW Companies. Section 23.24(h) has been added
back as §25.241(h) with some revision.
This section is adopted under the Public Utility Regulatory Act,
Texas Utilities Code Annotated §14.002 (Vernon 1998) (PURA) which provides
the commission with the authority to make and enforce rules reasonably required
in the exercise of its powers and jurisdiction; and specifically PURA §32.101
which requires electric utilities to file a tariff, §35.007 which requires
electric utilities which own or operate a transmission facility to file a
tariff, §36.102 which requires the filing of a tariff with a statement
of intent to change rates, §36.108 which relates to suspension of a rate
change, §36.305 which requires electric cooperatives to file tariffs,
and §36.351 which requires electric utilities to file tariffs reflecting
discounted rates for institutions of higher education.
Cross-Index to Statutes: Public Utility Regulatory Act §§14.002,
32.101, 35.007, 36.102, 36.108, 36.305 and 36.351.
§25.241.Form and Filing of Tariffs.
(a)
Application. This section applies to all electric utilities.
(b)
Effective tariff. No utility shall directly or indirectly
offer any service, collect any rate or charge, give any compensation or discount
to a customer, or impose any classification, practice, or regulation different
from that which is prescribed in its effective tariff filed with the commission.
The tariff may include mathematical formulas that express the pricing terms
for service. Every contract for electric service between an electric utility
and a customer shall be deemed to be part of the effective tariff, and shall
be filed with the commission upon request.
(c)
Requirements as to size, form, identification and filing
of tariffs.
(1)
Every public utility shall file with the commission filing
clerk five copies of its tariff containing schedules of all its rates, tolls,
charges, rules, and regulations pertaining to all of its utility service .
It shall also file five copies of each subsequent revision. Each revision
shall be accompanied by a cover page which contains a list of pages being
revised, a statement describing each change, its effect if it is a change
in an existing rate, and a statement as to impact on rates of the change by
customer class, if any. If a proposed tariff revision constitutes an increase
in existing rates of a particular customer class or classes, then the commission
may require that notice be given.
(2)
All tariffs shall be in loose-leaf form of size 8
1/2 inches by 11 inches and shall be plainly printed or reproduced on paper
of good quality. The front page of the tariff shall contain the name of the
utility and location of its principal office and the type of service rendered
(telephone, electric, etc.).
(3)
Each rate schedule must clearly state the territory,
city, county, or exchange wherein said schedule is applicable.
(4)
Tariff sheets are to be numbered consecutively per
schedule. Each sheet shall show an effective date, a revision number, section
number, sheet number, page number, name of the utility, the name of the tariff,
and title of the section in a consistent manner. Sheets issued under new numbers
are to be designated as original sheets. Sheets being revised should show
the number of the revision, and the sheet numbers shall be the same.
(d)
Composition of tariffs. The tariff shall contain sections
and subsections setting forth:
(1)
a table of contents;
(2)
a list of the cities and counties in which service
is provided;
(3)
a brief description of the utility's operations;
(4)
the rate schedules; and
(5)
the service regulations, including the service agreement
forms.
(e)
Tariff filings in response to commission orders. Tariff
filings made in response to an order issued by the commission shall include
a transmittal letter stating that the tariffs attached are in compliance with
the order, giving the docket number, date of the order, a list of tariff sheets
filed, and any other necessary information. The tariff sheets shall comply
with all other rules in this chapter and shall include only changes ordered.
The effective date and/or wording of said tariffs shall comply with the provisions
of the order.
(f)
Symbols for changes. Each proposed tariff sheet shall
contain notations in the right-hand margin indicating each change made on
these sheets. Notations to be used are: (C) to denote a change in regulations;
(D) to denote discontinued rates or regulations; (E) to denote the correction
of an error made during a revision (the revision which resulted in the error
must be one connected to some material contained in the tariff prior to the
revision); (I) to denote a rate increase; (N) to denote a new rate or regulation;
(R) to denote a rate reduction; and (T) to denote a change in text, but no
change in rate or regulation. In addition to symbols for changes, each changed
provision in the tariff shall contain a vertical line in the right-hand margin
of the page, which clearly shows the exact number of lines being changed.
(g)
Availability of tariffs. Each utility shall make available
to the public at each of its business offices or designated sales offices
within Texas all of its tariffs currently on file with the commission, and
its employees shall lend assistance to persons seeking information on its
tariffs and afford inquirers an opportunity to examine any tariff upon request.
The utility also shall provide copies of any portion of its tariffs at a reasonable
cost.
(h)
Rejection. If a tariff filed with the commission is found
not to be in compliance with these sections, commission Staff shall file a
brief explanation of the reasons for rejection.
(i)
Effective date of tariff change. No jurisdictional tariff
change may take effect prior to 35 days after filing without commission approval.
The requested date will be assumed to be 35 days after filing unless a different
date is requested in the application. The commission may suspend the effective
date of the tariff change for 120 days after the requested effective date
and may extend that suspension another 30 days if required for final determination.
In the case of an actual hearing on the merits of a case that exceeds 15 days,
the suspension date is extended two days for each one day of actual hearing
in excess of 15 actual hearing days.
(j)
Compliance. Electric utilities that file new tariffs or
tariff revisions shall comply with the 1998 amendments to this section with
respect to the new or revised tariffs.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on June
2, 1999.
TRD-9903255
Rhonda Dempsey
Rules Coordinator
Public Utility Commission of Texas
Effective date: June 22, 1999
Proposal publication date: January 1, 1999
For further information, please call: (512) 936-7308
Subchapter J. Costs, Rates and Tariffs
Subchapter E. Customer Service and Protection
Subchapter H. Telephone
Chapter 25.
Substantive Rules Applicable to Electric Service Providers
Subchapter J. Costs, Rates and Tariffs
Chapter 26.
Substantive Rules Applicable to Telecommunications Service Providers