GTE Bill to Rise, Pacific Bell’s to Fall on Jan. 1

Residential telephone bills will change New Year’s Day, dropping for Pacific Bell’s customers and rising for those served by GTE California.

The California Public Utilities Commission said Friday that the new rates stem from “changes in accounting procedures” imposed earlier this year by the Federal Communications Commission.

Barring any further rate decisions by the PUC at its remaining meeting this year, these changes will result in a 12.5% credit that will reduce Pacific Bell’s typical residential bill of $30 to $26.75 through April. The credit will be trimmed to 3% in May and will remain at that level for the rest of 1989, making the average bill $29.10.

GTE’s customers will find a 6.78% surcharge added to their bills in January through April, when the surcharge will drop to 2.13%. Based on the company’s average residential bill of $29.78 a month, GTE’s customers will pay an average of $31.80 through April and $30.40 for the rest of the year.

Independent Decisions

The PUC said the new rates result from a series of independent regulatory decisions made earlier this year that affected the companies’ revenues. These decisions include adjustments ordered by the PUC to reflect lower business costs and reduced taxes.

The commission delayed translating these into specific billing terms until its staff could calculate their net effect.

The accounting changes ordered by the FCC authorized local phone companies to begin changing their rates in 1988 to conform to them. The PUC, however, gave the utilities four months--from January through April--to catch up.

The commission said the changes imposed in the phone companies’ accounting practices resulted from an FCC rewriting of its Uniform System of Accounts. Although they increase costs in the short term, the regulators maintain that the new procedures will result in lower customer costs after about five years.

GTE’s surcharge will apply only to the basic monthly service charge and for calls within the state placed through the utility. Pacific Bell said its credits will appear on bills under the heading “rate surcharge” in the section listing regulated monthly charges and credits.