The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission shouldn’t set rates when the...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission shouldn’t set rates when the FCC has exclusive authority, said the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a decision submitted Feb. 15 and filed Thursday (http://xrl.us/bngn5d). The Minnesota PUC had ordered Qwest “to submit…
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for review and approval a price list and supporting rationale for certain telecommunication network facilities 47 U.S.C. Section 271 requires Qwest to provide to its Minnesota competitors.” The 8th Circuit said enforcement of that section falls to the province of the FCC exclusively. The idea that PUCs have the right to set rates for Section 271 elements has been “roundly rejected” in similar cases and “by definition, exclusive regulatory authority cannot be shared by two independent regulatory agencies,” which means the Minnesota PUC’s action “intrudes on federal authority to regulate rates” in Section 271, the court said. “We reverse the judgment of the district court [given June 27, 2011], and remand to the district court to enter relief and judgment consistent with this opinion,” the 8th Circuit said. The PUC declined to comment.