According to a new Palm Beach Post article, BellSouth has asked Florida utility regulators for permission to recover about $32 million in storm costs it incurred during the hurricanes of 2005.
If approved, BellSouth would be able to charge its customers 50 cents a month per telephone line for a year. The company said it wants to collect $32.3 million, or 16 percent, of the $202.4 million it spent on Tropical Storm Arlene and five hurricanes that hit the state in 2005.
Florida state law allows telephone companies to recover storm expenses but places several restrictions on what they can collect. Large phone companies such as BellSouth have to exhaust their storm funds as well as spend an additional $5 million before going to state regulators. Once there, they are allowed to charge only up to 50 cents a month per line for a year.
State officials say they are making sure the telecom company is complying with the law. But some consumer advocates find the charges troubling. "A competitive company should have to make do in a competitive market because none of their so-called competitors have a statutory right to charge their customers for damage," said Mike Twomey, a Tallahassee-based consumer attorney and head of Florida Utility Watch Inc. "They are asking to have its customers pay for damaged lines and poles without any regard for what its profit levels are."
Read more in the Palm Beach Post article BellSouth files for $32 million in storm relief.
