Depending on the terms of a subscription to the cable television service, a customer would receive six or twelve AmeriChecks. The AmeriChecks could be used to pay for most Ameritech services, including basic local exchange telephone service offered by Ameritech Michigan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ameritech Corporation. Ameritech Michigan accepted AmeriChecks as payment for basic local exchange service. The standard of review for PSC orders is narrow and well defined. A party aggrieved by an order of the PSC bears the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that the order is unlawful or unreasonable.
Statutory interpretation is a question of law subject to de novo review.
As a general rule, we will defer to the construction placed on a statute by the governmental agency charged with interpreting it, unless the agency interpretation is clearly erroneous. An agency's initial interpretation of new legislation is not entitled to the same measure of deference as is a long-standing interpretation. However, merely establishing that another interpretation of a statute is plausible does not satisfy a party's burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the PSC's interpretation is unlawful or unreasonable. The applicable rate structure was the same prior to the PSC's approval of the pricing methodology, and during the relevant time period. The prices charged were the full tariff rates at all times.