Centrex Rates Up

Rates for Harvard Centrex users increased 15.2 per cent yesterday as part of a statewide rise in telephone services approved two weeks ago by the Department of Public Utilities.

The basic service charge for Centrex subscribers increased from $8.75 to $9.85 per month on the contiguous plan and from $12.75 to $14.69 per month on the metropolitan plan, James N. O'Shea, manager of telecommunications, said yesterday.

Rates for pay phones, party lines, out-of-state long distance calls and installations are not affected by the increase, Peter Cronin, public relations agent for New England Telephone, said yesterday.

The rise in Harvard telephone rates corresponds exactly to the increase passed on to all Massachusetts telephone users, Cronin said.

New England Telephone originally requested a total rate increase of $200 million, but the State's regulatory agency approved only a $93.6 million rise.