The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has released the winter edition of the Keystone Connection report. The quarterly report represents the PUC’s efforts to provide beneficial information to the public about important developments in the electric, natural gas, transportation, telecommunications and water markets.

The publication's format contains coverage of all utilities under the PUC’s jurisdiction, including news on consumer issues and general information on Commission happenings.

Pennsylvania, along with 34 other states, has reached a $12 million settlement with LifeLock Inc, an Arizona-based company accused of making confusing or misleading statements in the advertisement and promotion of its identity theft protection services.

The settlement includes an $11 million national fund for consumer relief, along with $1 million to support future consumer protection investigations and education by the states. All eligible LifeLock customers will be contacted directly by the Attorney General's Office and the Federal Trade Commission with instructions about how to file a claim.

Tax-filing season is in full swing and a free website, developed with funding from the Legal Services Corporation, permits low-income workers to apply for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

The free electronic filing system, called I-CAN! E-File, was created by the Legal Aid Society of Orange County with funding provided by the Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) program at LSC. It launched in 2003.

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, has announced that the number of disability hearings pending stands at 697,437 cases -- the lowest level since June 2005 and down more than 71,000 cases since December 2008, when the trend of month-by-month reductions began.

In addition, the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008.