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“It seemed as if those of us who lived in Wards 7 and 8 were the
ones that were forgotten because it was more African Americans. Sometimes you didn’t have electricity, or your lights would go off. I remember one year; everything went out and a lot of us lost all of our food because of not having proper insulation.”
- Barbara Morgan, lifelong lay consumer advocate
Winds of Change — Bell Atlantic Telephone Divestiture and Energy Utility Deregulation
Transformation in the telecommunications industry began in the 1970s when the U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T.14 Almost a decade later, the lawsuit was settled, requiring AT&T to dismantle its century-long monopoly, which opened doors to competition and innovation.15 In January 1984, AT&T, the parent company, divested its local operating companies (the Bell system), thus forming the Regional Bell Operating Companies or “Baby Bells,” such as the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company (C&P), which became the Bell Atlantic Company.16 AT&T retained its long-distance telephone and equipment business, and C&P took charge of D.C.’s local telephone service operations. To implement the settlement, the Public Service Commission (PSC) opened an investigation to dissect the division of assets between AT&T and C&P, all while C&P was in the process of merging with Bell Atlantic Company. The Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC) was an active party to the proceedings.
At the same time, Bell Atlantic sought a rate increase that exceeded $11 million.17 OPC vigorously opposed the proposed rate increase, urging the PSC to consider the impact of such a rate increase on consumers. In the end, the PSC determined that the divestiture case was not about adjusting rates but about ensuring that the settlement agreement of the Bell Company
asset breakup was carried out properly. OPC proved its commitment to safeguarding consumer interests even amid significant industry changes.
Across the nation, utility companies argued for further deregulation, claiming it would protect consumers against skyrocketing utility costs by introducing increased market competition and efficiencies. Nationally, the impetus for change gained momentum by 1989, marking the inception of a transformative era that would reshape the utility industry.
All this, however, was just a foreshadowing of what was to come to the city with the recession in the early 1990s. Massive federal job cuts worsened the economic woes of those who were already struggling.
20 OPC’s Journey to Protect Utility Consumers