Interesting
Boston Edison Seeks DTE Ruling Against Cablevision
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 1998--Boston Edison Co. today asked the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy to deny a motion to reopen the record in a regulatory proceeding on whether Boston Edison can form a holding company.
Boston Edison accused Cablevision of Boston of "misstatements of law, misrepresentation of facts, mischaracterizations of testimony and documents" and abuse of the administrative process.
A separate motion filed by the Attorney General's office, based on the Cablevision motion, should also be rejected, Edison argues.
Boston Edison has a minority interest in RCN/Massachusetts, which provides cable, telephone and internet access services to Boston and a growing number of other Massachusetts communities. In Boston, Cablevision, which has had a monopoly on cable programming service, has been attempting to prevent competition by blocking RCN's entry into the boston area market.
Separately, today the company said it will request the Attorney General and the Federal Communications Commission to investigate whether cable operators in Massachusetts and the New England Cable Television Association have engaged in anti-competitive practices.
In its 13-page filing, Edison said "Cablevision's objective is to protect its monopoly, not customers." It pointed to an Oct. 10, 1997 DTE order rejecting Cablevision as a full party to the proceeding because Cablevision's interests stem from those of a competitor, "not from the concern for BECo's customers."
It asks the DTE to repudiate Cablevision "for the third time."
"Cablevision's motion raises issues rejected repeatedly by the DTE." According to Edison, Cablevision has resorted to using legal pleadings as a platform for press releases that sound like they are from the pages of popular tabloids."
Edison specifically argues the following: -- The issues raised in the motions are not issues in the holding company proceeding and have been repeatedly rejected by the DTE.
-- Sections of legislation deregulating the electric industry cited by Cablevision and the Attorney General's office are neither new nor applicable to the proceeding in question.
-- Contrary to arguments in the motions, approval of a holding company does not diminish DTE authority to impose remedies for alleged violations of DTE rules.
"All that is new here is Cablevision's quest to preclude competition in telecommunications, a goal that ought not be aided and abetted by either the cooperation of the Attorney General's office or acquiescence by the Department," Edison concludes.
Boston Edison also said it would propose in the near future a series of actions to protect cable television customers from monopoly abuses. Among the actions it is considering are: -- legislation giving regulatory authority to the DTE over incumbent cable companies for pricing, as well as performance; -- legislation requiring cable operators to divest ownership or control of video content production unless able to demonstrate they do not have market power. |
