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The PSC's latest ruling, which came on Tuesday, has been

March 31, 2019 by Kimberly Parks

The PSC's latest ruling, which came on Tuesday, has been a long-running fight for both sides in New York, and a case that's seen its most recent filing date overturned.

With that ruling, the PSC's approval of a transition plan to Charter comes less than two months after the state's state assembly approved a resolution that would have allowed Charter to continue operating as a state-owned company, providing Charter with the opportunity to take on TWC.

Now that the state's transition plan is approved, there is a chance Charter will move forward with the merger plan in 2018, said Michael Gerson, senior counsel at the law firm of R.P. Pellerin. "It will be a very tough battle," he said.

Despite the state's recent moves to remove Charter from the state's broadband market, Gerson said, the "competition will be fierce and there's a lot of competition that's going to happen on both sides of the equation."

The PSC's decision comes as a surprise to Charter, which has long made it clear that it can no longer rely on its public financing to fund its expansion plans. To the contrary, Charter has sought to get its financing back from state taxpayers through the state's general fund, which is $5.8 million per year. It also has the authority to seek state funding, which would allow the state the power to give Charter the money it needs to expand its network.

State officials say that means getting its share of the $5.8 million, or about $1 million, which the state will use to expand Charter's network through its network expansion, and to the cost of maintaining Charter's existing network.

"This is the largest transfer of state resources that we've ever received from the state, and it's an incredible deal," State Treasurer Mike Bloomberg said during a recent interview with NJ Today. "We have to maintain that kind of balance, and to keep that balance in balance, we're going to have to make sure our customers continue to have competition."

The deal is expected to be finalized in 2018 after the PSC determines Charter's final financing plan. The PSC has not yet decided whether to approve the state's $5.8 million. The PSC has also said it is not considering a move to move Charter outside its current market.

The PSC has been critical of several provisions of the merger plan, but the PSC has said it has no plans to change the rules. Charter has also said that