US West Communications has won its appeal against the Oregon Public Utility Commission. The Oregon Public Utility Commission will now have to review its decision which required US West to cut its rates by $97m annually and to issue a one-time $102m refund to customers. The Marion County Circuit Court ordered the commission to issue a new decision, the company said. US West Communications had appealed against the original commission decision which was handed down in May of last year. At the end of last year, US West lost a Supreme Court appeal regarding a similar rate order, which was made by the Washington State Utilities Commission. In that instance, the court upheld the decision made by the WSUC in April 1996, to order US West to cut charges by $91.5m. The Washington ruling meant an immediate price reduction in US West charges as well as resulting in refunds that could total up to $170m.
