May [the requesting individual] participate in future rate proceedings of incumbent telephone companies?
[The requesting individual] submits that a rate case convened to consider the reasonableness of rates of a utility for a specified period is distinct from every other rate case for that utility, as each case is convened to consider the reasonableness of rates for a specific period. The Commission agrees. The PSC has traditionally set a telephone company’s rates to produce sufficient revenue to recover the firm’s “revenue requirements”(6) in a specific, forecasted twelve-month period. If, due to changes in customer demand, operating costs, investor-return requirements or other factors, once-appropriate rates are suspected to be either excessive or inadequate relative to revenue requirements in a future period, the PSC may investigate whether the rates should be changed for the future period. Such investigations may be instituted upon the PSC’s own motion, upon a consumer complaint, or upon a request of the utility. In recent years, the PSC has experimented with alternative regulatory pl
