Sec. 663.5. Telecommunications plant retired

(a) Telecommunications plant accounts shall at all times disclose the original cost of all property in service. When any item of property subject to plant retirement accounting is worn out, lost, sold, destroyed, abandoned, surrendered upon lapse of title, becomes permanently unserviceable, is withdrawn or for any other reason is retired from service, the plant accounts applicable to that item shall be credited with the original cost of the plant retired whether replaced or not (except as provided for minor items in paragraph [b][2] of this section). Normally, these retirement credits with respect to such plant as entire buildings, entire central offices, all plant abandoned and any large sections of plant withdrawn from service, shall be entered in the accounts for the month in which use of the property ceased. For any other plant withdrawn from service, the retirement credits shall be entered no later than the next succeeding month. Literal compliance with the provision for timing of entries with respect to property amounting to less than $50,000 for Class A companies or $10,000 for Class B companies retired under any one project is not required if an unreasonable amount of recordkeeping and estimating of quantities, original costs and salvage is necessary. The retirement entry shall refer to the continuing property record, or records supplemental thereto, from which the cost was obtained (note also subdivision [c] of this section). Every company shall establish procedures which will ensure compliance with these requirements.

(b) To avoid undue refinement, depreciable telecommunications plant shall be accounted for as follows:

(1) Retirement units.

This group includes major items of property, as shown in the Retirement Units List of this system of accounts. (The Retirement Units List is set out at the end of the system of accounts, infra.) For items included on the retirement units list, the original cost of any such items retired shall be credited to the plant account and charged to account 3100, Accumulated Depreciation, whether or not replaced. The original cost of retirement units installed in place of property retired shall be charged to the applicable telecommunications plant account.

(2) Minor items.

This group includes any part or element of plant which is not designated as a retirement unit. The original cost of a minor item of property when included in the specific or average cost for a retirement unit or units requires no separate credit to the telecommunications plant account when such a minor item is retired. The cost of replacement shall be charged to the account applicable for the cost of repairs of the property. However, if the replacement effects a substantial betterment (the primary aim of which is to make the property affected more useful, of greater durability, of greater capacity or more economical in operation), the excess cost of such a replacement, over the estimated cost at the then current prices of replacement without betterment of the minor items being retired, shall be charged to the applicable telecommunications plant account.

(c) The cost of property to be retired shall be the amount at which property is included in the telecommunications plant accounts. However, when it is impracticable to determine the cost of each item due to the relatively large number or small cost of such items, the average cost of all the items covered by an appropriate subdivision of the account shall be used in determining the cost to be assigned to such items when retired. The method used in determining average cost must give due regard to the quantity, vintage, size and kind of items, the area in which they were installed and their classification in other respects. Average cost may be applied in retirement of such items as poles, wire, cable, cable terminals, conduit and booths. Any company may use average cost of property installed in a year or band of years. It should be understood, however, that the use of average costs shall not relieve the company of the requirement for maintaining its continuing property records to show, where practicable, dates of installation and removal for purposes of mortality studies. (See section 663.7 of this Part, standard practices for establishing and maintaining continuing property records.)

(d) The accounting for the retirement of property, plant and equipment shall be as provided above except:

(1) Amounts included in subaccount 2005.1, Telecommunications Plant Acquisition Adjustment; subaccount 2005.2, Other Plant Adjustment; account 2681, Capital Leases; account 2682, Leasehold Improvements; account 2690, Intangibles; and any amounts associated with amortizable leaseholds, easements, and similar rights in land included in account 2111, Land, shall be debited, as appropriate, to accounts 3410, 3420, 3500, 3600 and credited to the applicable accounts.

(2) Amounts in account 2111, Land, and amounts for works of art recorded in account 2122, Furniture, shall be treated at disposition, with commission approval, as a gain or loss and shall be credited or debited to account 7150, Gains and Losses from Disposition of Land and Artworks, as applicable. The gain or loss shall be the difference between such original cost and the sale price (less commissions and other expenses of making the sale) of the land or artwork. If land or artwork is retained by the company and held for sale, the cost shall be charged to account 2006, Nonoperating Plant.

(e) When the telecommunications plant is sold together with traffic associated therewith, the original cost of the property shall be credited to the applicable plant accounts and the estimated amounts carried with respect thereto in the accumulated depreciation and amortization accounts shall be charged to such accumulated accounts. The difference, if any, between the net amount of such debit and credit items and the consideration received (less commissions and other expenses of making the sale) for property that was ever included in regulated accounts shall, with commission approval, be included in account 7350, Gains and Losses from Disposition of Certain Property. The accounting for depreciable telecommunications plant sold without the traffic associated therewith shall be in accordance with the accounting provided in paragraph C of account 3100, Accumulated Depreciation.

(f) Attention is directed further to the following abstract from section 99, subdivision 2 of the Public Service Law, which defines the commission's authority to require approval for the assignment or transfer by a telegraph or telephone company of its owned or leased property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any such transfer or lease with an original cost of:

(1) less than $100,000 proposed by a telephone corporation having annual gross revenues in excess of $200,000,000;

(2) less than $25,000 proposed by a telephone corporation having annual gross revenues of less than $200,000,000; or

(3) less than $10,000 proposed by a telephone corporation having annual gross revenues of less than $10,000,000 shall be effective without the commission's written consent within 90 days after such corporation notifies the commission that it plans to complete such transfer or lease and submits a description of the transfer or lease, provided however, that the commission may determine within such 90 days that the public interest requires its review and written consent.