California, New York Regulators Delay Decisions on Comcast/TWC

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and New York Public Service Commission (PSC) said separately Wednesday that they're delaying votes on the Comcast/Time Warner Cable deal. The CPUC said it’s delaying its vote on a proposed decision approving Comcast/TWC until May 7, while the New York PSC said it’s extending its deadline to issue a final order on the deal to April 20. The CPUC had planned to vote on Comcast/TWC March 26, while the New York PSC’s previous deadline for issuing a decision on the deal was Thursday. CPUC Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer said in an email to parties in that commission’s review of Comcast/TWC that he was delaying a vote on the proposed decision “in order to give myself time to respond fully to the many comments filed on the PD and to rule on the various motions filed by the parties in the last few weeks.” CPUC Commissioner Carla Peterman plans a second all-party meeting on the proposed decision on April 3 at the commission’s Los Angeles office to get input from TWC “and others in southern California potentially affected by the proposed merger,” Bemesderfer said. A previous CPUC all-party meeting on the proposed Comcast/TWC decision drew criticism from all parties, with Comcast and other companies associated with Comcast/TWC opposing most of the 25 conditions included in the proposed decision. Nearly all public interest groups at the meeting again said they believe the CPUC should reject the deal outright rather than approving with conditions (see 1502260060).