The Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) for Washington State has fined CenturyLink Communications LLC, doing business as Lumen Technologies, $923,000 for involuntarily disconnecting or suspending nearly 1,000 telephone accounts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CenturyLink is the largest local telephone company in Washington, according to the UTC. It serves approximately 650,000 residential and business lines.
The UTC order assessed a $1,000 penalty per violation. Gov. Inslee issued an emergency proclamation prohibiting all telecommunications providers in the state from disconnecting any residential customers from telecommunications service due to nonpayment during the pandemic. A UTC administrative law judge said that Lumen unlawfully disconnected 923 customers from service during the emergency proclamation that lasted from March 2020 through September 30, 2021.
Lumen argued it should not be penalized because the disconnections were inadvertent and only affected a small percentage of its customers.
In the order, the UTC said Lumen’s arguments did not change its “assessment of the impact on the businesses, households, and individuals who were deprived of their means of connecting with employers, loved ones, and emergency services during a global health crisis.”
The company has 20 days to request review by the UTC commissioners.
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