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| Many in the San Lorenzo Valley and rural Santa Cruz County still depend on AT&T’s landline phones as the most dependable way to call for help in emergencies like winter storms or wildfires. When the power is out, as it often is in bad weather or natural disasters, a landline may be our only way of communicating. It can be a lifeline for the neighborhood, as we saw last winter when cell service frequently failed during powerful storm systems.However, AT&T has recently applied with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to abandon its status as Carrier of Last Resort (COLR). If approved by the CPUC, this would end AT&T’s obligation to provide COLR landline phone service to residents, allowing AT&T to drop support for its landline phone lines and affecting over 580,000 AT&T customers in California. For lower-income residents, the change would also likely mean the end of LifeLine program discounts, as alternative non-COLR carriers would not be required to provide them. The CPUC is expected to give a proposed decision in September and is currently accepting written public comment. In-person only public hearings will be held February 22 at the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors (2 & 6 PM) and on March 14 at the Indio City Hall (2 & 6 PM) There will be two virtual meetings on March 19 for public comment by phone, one session at 2 PM and one at 6 PM. What can you do? Write the CPUC to submit a comment in opposition, call into the March 19 virtual meetings, and contact our elected representatives, State Senator John Laird, Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, and Representative Jimmy Panetta. |
| Submit a written comment:Add your comment to the CPUC for proceeding with A2303003 before March 19 here. Click on Add Public Comment.When entering a Public Comment, use a Microsoft Windows browser like Microsoft Edge. Safari is not supported. |
| Attend a CPUC Virtual Meeting: March 19 at 2:00 & 6:00 PM, live webcast www.adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc Phone: 1-800-857-1917 Passcode: 6032788# |
| Contact our elected officials:State Senator John Laird: Contact | Senator John Laird Phone, Santa Cruz District Office: (831) 425-0401Assemblymember Gail Pellerin: Contact | Official Website – Assemblymember Gail Pellerin Phone, Santa Cruz District Office: (831) 425-1503Representative Jimmy Panetta: Contact | Jimmy Panetta Phone, Santa Cruz District Office: (831) 429-1976 |
Santa Cruz Climate Action Network 