Connecticut Court Says PURA Misread Muni Gain Law
A Connecticut court said the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority overreached when it ruled 2-0 last year that “municipal gain” space on utility poles or underground ducts -- reserved by a 2013 law “for any purpose” -- can't be used to…
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provide muni broadband. Tuesday's Connecticut Superior Court ruling agreed with the state consumer counsel and municipal appellants that PURA “acted beyond its statutory power, and its action was invalid.” The court disagreed with PURA saying the 2013 law wasn’t plain and unambiguous about whether the space could be used for any purpose: “The authority created ambiguity where none otherwise exists by finding the conflicting construction proposed by the petitioners equally ‘plausible.’” The authority “paid no attention to the words of the statute, made no attempt to discern their meaning,” and should have checked the dictionary for the meaning of “any,” said the court. Sections 224 and 253 of the federal Telecom Act, and a Connecticut telecom law, apply only to telecom services, so they don’t prohibit a municipality from using the space for internet services, it said. The court noted the matter “is clearly headed toward higher judicial ground.” PURA didn’t comment.