HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is conducting a series of hearings on options for the expected depletion of available 570 area code numbers, which is expected to happen sometime in 2011. 

Tonight’s hearing is in Scranton, in the State Office Building at 100 Lackawanna Avenue.  It starts at 6 p.m.

Four relief alternatives are possible for ensuring adequate number resources. The alternatives include an overlay of a new area code and various geographic splits of the existing area code running east to west, north to south or northeast to southeast. More specifics on the plan can be found on the PUC’s website – PUC Order; Appendix.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the hearings and provide comments.  Customer testimony will become part of the record on which the PUC will issue its final decision.

Business organizations, in particular, have been critical of a geographic split, noting the high marketing costs associated with having to change advertising, letter heads and business cards.  With a split, all existing, as well as new numbers, in part of the existing 570 territory, would have new phone numbers.

An overlay could result in houses in the same neighborhood, or even the same home, having different area codes, when new numbers are added.