Maine could be just a few years away from running out of 207 area code phone numbers.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission initially expected 207 numbers to run out by 2024, but commission chair Phil Bartlett said efforts to extend the life of the area code through 2025 were successful.

Those steps included investigating the forecasting practices of companies like Verizon which the Bartlett says may have unnecessarily contributed to an earlier exhaust date and returning unused numbering blocks to the pool.

The FCC is due to an issue report in August detailing measures to conserve numbers.

The PUC says its efforts so far have resulted in returning more than 600,000 numbers to the numbering pool.