16 Tex. Admin. Code § 26.274 - Imputation
(a) Application. This section applies to
incumbent local exchange companies (ILECs) as that term is defined in the
Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), §51.002(3). The obligations
prescribed by this section may be applied to an ILEC with fewer than one
million access lines in the state only on a bona fide request from a party
having a justiciable interest.
(b)
Purpose. This section implements the state's regulatory policy to prevent an
ILEC from selling a wholesale service or function to another telecommunications
utility at a price that is higher than the rate the ILEC implicitly includes in
retail services it provides.
(c)
Definition. The term "competitively available" when used in this section, shall
mean a service that may be obtained from at least one source other than the
ILEC to an extent sufficient to discipline the price charged by the ILEC in the
state. In the context of an imputation test for a retail service, there shall
be a rebuttable presumption that a wholesale service is competitively available
if:
(1) the ILEC providing the retail service
has elected under the Public Utility Regulatory Act, Chapter 58 and the
wholesale service is a competitive service; or
(2) the service is available from a
competitor, other than a pure reseller, to 60% of the access lines to which the
retail service is or will be available.
(d) Services for which imputation is
required. Except as provided otherwise in subsection (e) of this section,
imputation of the price of a wholesale service is required in establishing the
rates for a retail service if:
(1) the retail
service cannot be purchased at wholesale rates for resale by a competitor;
and
(2) a wholesale service that is
not competitively available is necessary for the competitor to provide its
competing service.
(e)
Rates to which imputation is not required. The price of a retail local exchange
telephone service that is a basic network service or a retail local exchange
telephone service whose rate is capped pursuant to PURA Chapter 59 shall not be
subject to the requirements of this section unless:
(1) the price cap under PURA Chapter 58 or
the election period under PURA Chapter 59 has expired;
(2) the price cap applicable to the service
is raised;
(3) the ILEC's rates for
local exchange telephone service are restructured or rebalanced; or
(4) the service is reclassified from a basic
network service to a non-basic service.
(f) Imputation on a service-by-service basis.
Imputation shall be applied on a service-by-service basis, not on a
rate-element-by-rate-element basis.
(g) Imputation methodology. An imputation
study filed pursuant to this section shall demonstrate that the price the ILEC
charges for a retail service recovers the cost of providing the service.
Alternatively, the study may demonstrate that, no later than the second year
after the retail service is first offered, the revenue the ILEC receives from
the service recovers the cost of providing the service. For purposes of this
section, the cost of providing a retail service is defined as the sum of:
(1) specifically tariffed premium rates for
the noncompetitive services or service functions, or elements of these
noncompetitive services or service functions (or their functional equivalents)
that are used to provide the retail service;
(2) the total service long-run incremental
costs of the competitive services or service functions that are used;
(3) any costs, not otherwise reflected in
paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection, that are specifically associated with
provision of the retail service or group of services; and
(4) any cost or surcharge associated with an
explicit subsidy that is applied to all providers of the retail service for the
purpose of promoting universal service.
(h) Imputation study for a new service or a
revised rate. In forecasting revenue and costs in an imputation study for a new
service or a revised rate, it shall be the responsibility of the ILEC to
demonstrate:
(1) the validity of the data on
which the forecast is based;
(2)
the validity of the statistical method or model on which the forecast is based;
and
(3) the validity of the
interpretation and application of the forecast in the imputation
study.
(i) Timing of
imputation studies. An imputation study shall be filed by an ILEC under any of
the circumstances set out in paragraphs (1)-(5) of this subsection.
(1) Upon complaint by a party, and a finding
by the commission that an imputation study is in the public interest, or on the
commission's own motion. Upon receiving a complaint calling for an imputation
study, the commission shall determine within 45 days whether an imputation
study shall be required.
(2) When
an ILEC files an application to reduce a rate for a retail service for which
imputation is required.
(3) When an
ILEC applies to increase a rate for a wholesale service that:
(A) is not competitively available;
and,
(B) is necessary for a
competitor to provide its competing service or is a component of a retail
service for which imputation is required.
(4) In conjunction with an application to
provide a new service or contract that uses a wholesale service that:
(A) is not competitively available;
and
(B) is necessary for a
competitor to provide its competing service.
(5) As otherwise ordered by the
commission.
(j)
Confidentiality of data. If a party classifies data filed with the commission
as confidential, the party should designate the section of the Public
Information Act (Chapter 522, Texas Government Code) that excepts the
information from public disclosure. The commission will treat such information
as confidential subject to the provisions of the Public Information Act and
protective orders issued by the commission applicable to the data.
(k) Waiver provisions.
(1) The commission may waive the imputation
requirement for a public interest service such as 9-1-1 or dual party relay
service if the commission determines that the waiver is in the public
interest.
(2) After notice and
hearing, and subject to the requirements of law, the commission may waive any
provision of this section for good cause.
Notes
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