Scarnati Praises Area Code Decision

HARRISBURG –Today’s decision by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to dismiss a scheduled geographic split for the 814 area code is good news for area residents and local businesses, according to Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson), who has been working to find a solution to the proposed change.

“This is a real victory for the many residents who came to public hearings to offer their opinions and express their concerns about dividing communities into 582 and 814 area codes,” Scarnati said in a news release. “I would like to thank the PUC for giving consideration to the businesses and citizens in this area that would have been placed into a new area code before rendering its decision.”

In 2010, the PUC approved a plan to split the 814 area code along geographic boundaries to avoid running out of phone numbers. That plan would have created a new area code for many customers.

But after hearing public input and reviewing more than 40 petitions for reconsideration, the PUC determined that the projected exhaust date for the 814 area code has been extended five years, or until the second quarter of 2018.

“This ongoing issue has been one of great concern to many constituents in my district, and I am very pleased that the scheduled implementation has been dismissed,” Scarnati said. “I would also like to thank all the people who contacted my office on the matter and came out to public forums and made their voices heard.”

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947