Enforcement Bureau Stays Frontier-Duke Energy Rate Reduction Dispute Proceeding
The FCC Enforcement Bureau’s Market Disputes Resolution Division granted a stay request Monday from Duke Energy, which had asked the commission to pause its proceeding between Frontier Communications and Duke until both companies can complete arbitration in their dispute over…
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the amount of money Frontier owes Duke as part of their joint use of each other’s utility poles in North Carolina. Frontier had filed a complaint with the FCC in January 2014 seeking a reduction in the rates included in its joint use agreement with Duke pursuant to the FCC’s 2011 pole attachment order. Duke had previously filed an arbitration demand in October 2013 over what it claims are unpaid invoice amounts. Frontier had sought a ruling from the U.S. District Court in Raleigh in November 2013 that the FCC had primary jurisdiction over the dispute; the court dismissed Frontier’s complaint in August and compelled the parties to arbitrate. The Raleigh District Court has scheduled a hearing on the arbitration for the week of June 15, the FCC said. The ongoing arbitration process means a stay in the FCC’s proceeding is necessary, because it will “preserve the time and resources of the Commission and the parties by preventing duplicative proceedings addressing the same issues,” the FCC said. “Moreover, Frontier's Complaint is governed by the Arbitration Clause, which applies to ‘disputes aris[ing] between the parties concerning matters pertaining to [the Agreements].’ The parties' dispute as to whether the Agreements' rates are unlawful is a dispute ‘pertaining to’ the Agreements.”