Pacific Bell Asks Restudy of Rate Cut

Pacific Bell asked the California Public Utilities Commission on Wednesday to reconsider the $124-million rate cut that it ordered Jan. 10, citing what it says is $213 million in PUC calculation errors.

Pacific’s action effectively blocks implementation of the rate cut, which would have trimmed a few cents off the typical residential phone bill. The PUC has 60 days to respond to the requested rehearing.

Pacific’s application identifies four computational errors and 16 factual errors, said L. Reed Waters, vice president for regulatory matters. Among other things, he said, the commission failed to use the most recent inflation factors in arriving at its final financial computation, short-changing Pacific by $33 million. The company also said that the commission used incorrect data regarding estimated traffic volume and directory assistance revenue, and erroneously disallowed other revenue items.

The errors produced revenue levels “far below what Pacific Bell must spend in 1986 to provide service to California,” Waters said.

While Pacific Bell was forestalling implementation of the revenue cut in San Francisco, leaders of its parent, Pacific Telesis Group, were meeting with securities analysts in New York to outline their assessment of the probable impact of the PUC action on 1986 earnings.