Simi May Tell Firm to Lower Cable Fees : Television: The City Council will consider a staff recommendation to force Comcast to decrease rates and pay refunds.

Despite requests by Comcast Cable for a rate increase, the Simi Valley City Council tonight will consider a staff recommendation to force the company to lower rates and pay refunds.

The city’s roughly 28,000 cable customers could see a 22-cent reduction for basic service if the council approves the city staff’s recommendation.

Customers could also receive refunds of about 75 cents for each month that they were subscribers since July 14, said Joe Hreha, city deputy director of environmental services.

Representatives from Comcast, which provides service in Simi Valley, said they were still going over the staff report.

“Historically, we have always been found to be in compliance with both the letter and the intent of the regulations,” said Jeff Carlson, vice president for Comcast in California. “I would be surprised if there were problems to the extent that (the city’s) report implies.”

Hreha said a review of Comcast’s rates by his staff and a consultant showed that the company also charged too much for other services.

For instance, the review found that the company charged two different rates for essentially the same service and overcharged for a service to cover any potential home wiring repairs.

The council will also consider ordering a reduction in those charges today.

Hreha said the city had not received complaints from customers about the existing rates.

The city’s review of cable rates occurred when Comcast, after requesting the rate increase, had to fill out several detailed forms.

“They submitted a justification for the increase per federal regulations,” Hreha said. “We reviewed those documents . . . and found several inconsistencies.”

Carlson said that if the city approved a rate reduction, it would be the third since September, 1993. Before the first reductions in 1993, the monthly rate was $27.99. Simi residents now pay $21.90 for basic service, and the city is recommending a drop to $21.68.

In asking for the rate increase, Comcast had cited an increase in the cost of living.

The Federal Communications Commission deregulated the cable television industry in 1984, allowing providers to set their own rates. But in 1992, Congress reversed that decision and turned over the regulation of basic cable service to such authorities as cities. When the new law took effect in September 1993, about two-thirds of Ventura County’s cable subscribers saw a decrease in their bills.

Industry officials complain that the more than 500 pages of new rules are incredibly complex and hard to follow, while industry critics charge that cable companies are circumventing the rules by increasing charges for minor services and hiking rates for premium channels.

Comcast, which has more than 3 million customers nationwide and 35 cable franchises in California, plans to argue against the rate decrease at tonight’s meeting.

Councilman Bill Davis said he believes that the staff recommendations were in line with the FCC regulations.

“I presume we are right and I’m going to support our staff,” he said. “Comcast has their opinion and we have ours.”