Applegate resident says Lumen's response to utility outages has improved

APPLEGATE, Ore. – An investigation was launched into into CenturyLink’s parent company Lumen technologies by the state’s public utilities commission back in September 2022.

The PUC announced potential penalties and fines against Lumen, if they did not resolve their customer issues.

Several Applegate customers had complained to the PUC after struggling to get reliable land line phone service.

Six months later, Priscilla Weaver, an Applegate resident said her issues have been resolved.

“We’ve had backup battery power, we’ve been able to report our outages, and the one or two outages we’ve had have been corrected, one of them with three hours,” Weaver said. “The order was needed and it’s been effective, we have our full phone service.”

This week, the PUC affirmed their decision that they have the authority to investigate the problems with Lumen service quality.

The investigation is still ongoing, but the PUC is requiring the company to have a dedicated customer support line for residential customers and address all repair tickets and make repairs within 48 hours.

PUC commissioner, Letha Tawney, said conflicting evidence from residents on service issues being resolved, led to their decision.

“We felt it was important to continue the performance requirements, particularly with the dedicated 1-800 number and the reporting to us about whether issues were being resolved quickly or not,” Tawney said.

NBC5 reached out to Lumen for a response, but have yet to hear back.

The PUC said the company can appeal the decision in court.