NARUC commends FCC decision to provide states with outage reporting data

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) backs a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that provides states with access to the FCC’s outage reporting data.

This decision provides NARUC members and first responders with accurate and timely communications outage and infrastructure status information via the FCC’s Network Outage Reporting System and Disaster Information Reporting System.

The FCC’s order will adopt a framework to provide state and other federal agencies with access to outage information that improves their situational awareness and enhances their ability to respond more quickly to outages while safeguarding the confidentiality of this data.

“Although long overdue, the FCC deserves praise for taking action on this issue,” NARUC Telecommunications Committee Chair Karen Charles Peterson of Massachusetts said. “NARUC and a number of our members have supported this idea since the California Commission petitioned the FCC for access 10 years ago. When a disaster or weather emergency strikes, providing rapid access to company reportage outage data can only improve disaster response and recovery efforts across all levels of government. This order provides that access.”

NARUC is a non-profit organization founded in 1889 whose members include the governmental agencies that are engaged in the regulation of utilities and carriers in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. NARUC’s member agencies regulate telecommunications, energy, and water utilities.