In the nearly seven weeks since Fairpoint's 1,700-strong northern New England workforce went on strike, Maine regulators are reporting an increase in consumer complaints against the communications company.
Harry Lanphear — spokesman for the Maine Public Utilities Commission — says there have been 310 calls complaining about Fairpoint service since October 17, when the strike began.
"Of those, we have a total of 14 formal complaints," Lanphear says, adding the number is nearly twice what PUC would typically receive over this time period.
He says formal complaints are those submitted by consumers in writing when the utility has failed to address a particular issue.
But Lanphear says it's not clear how many of the complaints are directly related to disruptions caused by the strike alone, and how many are due to the two major storms that have hit the state since mid-October.