Colorado regulators will no longer require CenturyLink to maintain Qwest’s level of charitable contributions in the state over the next three years.
The mandate was originally included in the Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s approval in January of CenturyLink’s acquisition of Denver-based Qwest, a merger that closed this month.
The phone companies appealed the decision, and in an order that took effect March 17, the PUC removed the philanthropy requirement.
The three-member commission agreed with the argument that the Qwest Foundation, Qwest’s charitable giving arm, was not a party in the case and therefore decided not to place any requirement on it.
The companies gave regulators a “voluntary commitment to continue charitable giving from their regulated entities in Colorado at Qwest’s current levels for a two-year period.”
In its 2-1 decision in January, the PUC stated that requiring Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink to maintain Qwest’s corporate giving levels to area nonprofit organizations “would create a transition and avoid an immediate problem for many of the current recipients from Qwest, especially given the uneasy state of the economy and its impact on overall charitable donations.”
The dissenting commissioner, Jim Tarpey, noted then that “charitable contributions are not a cost paid by ratepayers and are a matter outside the commission’s jurisdiction.”
The companies agreed with Tarpey, adding that a charitable contribution requirement could “create a dangerous precedent.”
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or
