Minnesota Agency Says Frontier Needs PUC Clearance to Restructure; CWA Urges Dismissal
Approving Frontier Communications bankruptcy reorganization is in the public interest, Minnesota’s Commerce Department said in Wednesday comments at the Public Utilities Commission. "Frontier would be in danger of disrupting service to its customers had it not sought bankruptcy protection from…
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its creditors and arranged for approval of its plan of reorganization,” the department said in docket 20-504. U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York could deny Frontier’s plan without state commission OKs, the department said. “Such action would delay efforts to restructure Frontier and institute reliable customer service.” The department asked the PUC to add a most-favored-state condition to its OK in case other states get special commitments. Two unions said Frontier’s application is deficient. Proposed new owners haven't joined in the application as law requires -- and they probably can’t -- "since they do not presently exist as legal entities,” commented Communications Workers of America. The proposed reorganization isn’t ripe for PUC consideration because it’s only a draft, said CWA, noting Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority dismissed Frontier’s similar application last month because it was subject to change. The Minnesota PUC should similarly dismiss the application or deem the filing incomplete and hold it in abeyance, CWA advised. The Laborers' International Union of North America-Minnesota and North Dakota said it gets why Frontier must restructure but must know more. “The application does not discuss how Frontier will balance market challenges and customer obligations, or how the company intends to handle obligations to third-party contractors or ensure that cost management measures do not negatively impact contractor workforce.”