PR-09-05 -- MEDIA ADVISORY: PSC Coming To St. Louis

Contact: Kevin Kelly (573) 751-9300

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- JULY 7, 2009

JEFFERSON CITY---The Missouri Public Service Commission plans to take its Agenda meeting on the road on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.  The Commission will hold its regularly scheduled Agenda meeting in St. Louis at the Emerson Center, Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede Avenue.  The meeting, scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., will be the first time the PSC public meeting (agenda) has been held outside of Jefferson City in recent memory.

“The Public Service Commission serves all areas of the state, not just Jefferson City,” said PSC Chairman Robert M. Clayton III.  “We hope to bring our proceedings and public deliberations out to all areas of the state.” 

Following the agenda meeting, the Commission will hold an on-the-record proceeding starting at 11:00 a.m. in the AT&T Missouri white pages directory waiver request case.  At the on-the-record proceeding, attorneys for parties in the case will appear before the Commission to answer questions regarding an agreement that has been filed for Commission consideration. 

On June 16, 2009, the parties in this case (AT&T Missouri, the Office of the Public Counsel, the PSC staff, the Communications Workers of America and Charter Fiberlink) filed an agreement for Commission consideration. 

The agreement urges the Commission to approve AT&T Missouri’s request for a waiver to implement its new method of providing residential white page directories in the Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield markets.  The agreement states AT&T Missouri would need to seek an additional waiver for any other areas of its service territory in Missouri.

The agreement requires AT&T Missouri to take several additional steps to ensure that every customer who wants a white pages directory will be able to receive one at no charge.  AT&T Missouri will provide its customers with the ability to choose how they access and use white pages listing information by providing information in multiple formats, including websites.  The AT&T Real Yellow Pages directory will continue to be sent to all households and businesses within its service territory.

To receive customer comment in the AT&T Missouri case, the Commission will hold a local public hearing that evening at the Emerson Center, Harris-Stowe State University.  The PSC staff will conduct a question-and-answer session at 5:30 p.m.  The local public hearing will start at 6:00 p.m. and will conclude when every person who wishes to testify has done so.

The agenda meeting, the on-the-record proceeding and the local public hearing are open to the public.  They will also be webcast and available over the internet at psc.mo.gov.

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