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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, th...

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted to put the 814 area code relief plan on hold at least until 2018. The commission voted 5-0 this morning to dismiss the petition filed by North American Number Planning Administrator that said numbers in the area code would be running out this month and they needed to do something about it. New studies show numbers won’t run out for six more years. “This is certainly great news, as I recognize that any form of area code relief has an impact on industry and the public. Today’s action certainly helps minimize that impact,” said PUC Vice Chairman John F. Coleman Jr. in a news release. The PUC had originally said the 814 area code region would be cut in half, with people in the western half of the region getting a new area code. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission announced this afternoon it will continue to suspend any plan to divide the 814 area code, or overlay another area code on it, at least until April. PUC commissioners made their decision after learning the area code is not expected to run out of available numbers until early 2016. Earlier predictions called for the area code to exhaust its supply of numbers by 2013. Commissioners voted in 2010 to split the 814 area-code region to prevent it from running out of available numbers. The plan was supposed to take effect in February of this year, with some people switching to the 582 area code. Petitions against the split, and then new predictions for the exhaustion date convinced the PUC to hold off on the changes. The PUC is scheduled to receive an update in April on when numbers in the 814 area code could run out. http://www.puc.state.pa.us/general/press_releases/Press_Releases.aspx?ShowPR=2914 \ The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A new forecast predicts the 814 area code won't run out of numbers until early 2016. The forecast released today by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission says the numbers will run out one year later than forecast just six months ago, and could delay any decision the PUC makes about splitting the area code or laying another area code on top of it. The PUC voted in 2010 to split the 814 area code geographically to prevent it from running out of available numbers. After public outcry, the PUC later voted to delay the split and consider alternatives. The commission is currently reviewing more than 40 petitions for reconsideration. The PUC says there’s no timeline for a decision.

HARRISBURG – Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) is encouraging area residents concerned about a proposed change to the 814 area code to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in a public hearing in Bradford hosted by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). The hearing, to gather further input on the impact of various options to address a shortage of numbers in the 814 area code, will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the Bradford Township Fire Department, 368 Interstate Parkway. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m. “I am pleased the PUC listened to the overwhelming opposition to its original plan to split the region in half, assigning a new area code to McKean County and points west while maintaining the existing code in the rest of the region,” Causer said. “People need to take advantage of the opportunity to voice their opinion about how best to address the number shortage.” Other options available include different geographic split proposals, as well as an overlay that...

The Public Utility Commission has delayed a decision to split the state's 814 area code because it probably won't run out of phone numbers until 2015. The PUC approved a plan in December to switch the area code to 582 for the northwestern part of the state, but in January commissioners said they would revisit the issue after receiving a number of petitions and complaints. The other option is an overlay, which would give all new numbers in the region the 582 area code but allow current customers to keep 814. The commission is still planning to hold public hearings on the matter. http://www.puc.state.pa.us/General/press_releases/Press_Releases.aspx?ShowPR=2738

The controversy over the 814 area code came up during today’s House Appropriations Committee budget hearings. State Representative Marty Causer asked members of the Public Utility Commission how they came to their decision to split the area code instead of doing an overlay. “My mother is in Eldred, and even she gave me a hard time,” joked Commissioner James Cawley before giving his answer. He explained that the commission thought it was doing the right thing by making the split and assigning a new area code (582) to the western part of the region. “We thought we were splitting it in the area up there that we thought was going to grow, including Eldred – believe it or not – and Erie, (and) they would need lots of new numbers,” he said, “and then the part that was left at 814 – we thought that’s not going to grow very much.” Cawley also said the commission didn’t hear from businesses before their decision, and that public hearings on the matter were sparsely attended. The PUC will be hol...

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is reviewing last week’s announcement that the 814 area code will not run out of numbers as soon as originally predicted. The North American Numbering Plan Administration has pushed back the expected exhaust date for the 814 area code by two years – from 2013 to 2015. The PUC says it will plan formal action at an upcoming regularly scheduled meeting. The next two meetings are scheduled for March 17 and 31. The original plan was to assign the 582 area code to McKean, Elk, Jefferson, Erie and parts of several other counties. After receiving more than 40 petitions against the plan, the commission decided to reconsider, and to gather more public input.

The North American Numbering Plan Administration has pushed back the expected exhaust date for the 814 area code by two years, which may mean a delay in plans to change the number in the region. The area code is now projected to run out of numbers in early 2015. The earlier forecast said available numbers would be gone by early 2013. The administration says one reason for the change is that telephone-service providers in the 814 area-code region needed fewer new numbers in 2010 than they thought they would. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission postponed a pre-hearing conference scheduled for Tuesday in Harrisburg to discuss when and where to hold public hearings and technical conferences about the 814 area code. Now, commissioners say they will take the new projection into consideration before deciding how to proceed. The PUC had decided to split the region in two and assign the 582 area code to most of the western half of the region.

The state Public Utility Commission has voted to review its decision to split the 814 area code and to assign the area code 582 to most of the western part of the state. The PUC got about 40 petitions asking it to reconsider the December 16 decision to divide the area code along geographic boundaries. The commission voted 5-0 today to do that, but did not say when they would make a decision on that matter. In a news release, they said they could rescind, modify or affirm the original decision. http://www.puc.state.pa.us/General/press_releases/Press_Releases.aspx?ShowPR=2696