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For Immediate Release
August 5, 2011
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PUC to Hold Aug. 15 Oil City Hearing on 814 Area Code Change
Senator White urges businesses and citizens to offer input
Harrisburg -- The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has
scheduled an additional public hearing to receive further input on a possible
split of the 814 area code in northwestern Pennsylvania, state Sen. Mary Jo
White (R-21) said today.
Administrative law judge Katrina L. Dunderdale will conduct a
hearing on Monday, Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. at the Arlington Hotel, 1 Seneca St. in Oil
City. The public is encouraged to attend the public input hearing, where
residents will have the opportunity to present remarks that will become part of
the record on which the Commission will base its final decision.
The PUC ordered a geographic split of the 814 area code on
December 17, 2010. In response to various petitions for reconsideration, the
PUC on February 8, 2011 ordered further public hearings to gather facts and
public input. The PUC later determined that the 814 area code would not run out
of telephone numbers until 2015, rather than the previously projected 2013 date.
Senator White joined multiple consumer and industry groups,
citizens and businesses in filing a Petition for Reconsideration urging the PUC
to adopt an "overlay" plan as an alternative to splitting 814. An overlay would
cover the entire 814 area code, giving only new numbers a new area code, rather
than singling out northwestern Pennsylvania, while addressing the dwindling
number of phone numbers available with 814.
The hearing will focus on the effects of both the geographic
split and overlay options.
"I strongly urge business operators and other citizens who would
be impacted by this to consider attending the August 15 hearing," said White.
"This process requires openness and due diligence on the part of the PUC, and
public hearings are an important part of that process."
CONTACT:
Leigh Ramsey
(717) 787-9684 | 
