Hartford (CT) Courant:

AT&T and Verizon are fighting a state order that would require them and every other regulated utility to disclose the compensation of top executives in an annual report to regulators.

The two telecommunication companies have filed notice with the state Department of Public Utility Control that they plan to appeal the order, which requires them to list the salaries, bonuses and other payments made to executive officers and directors for 2006, 2007 and every year afterward.

The companies have argued that they are not subject to such disclosure requirements because the DPUC doesn’t regulate their rates. The DPUC does regulate other aspects of their businesses.

The DPUC, in a final decision issued last week, disagreed, saying it “has determined that the public has a right to know this information in order to make informed decisions regarding their choice of service provider.”