State Regulators Weigh In On Pole Access Cost Sharing

The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) issued an order Tuesday that pole companies, primarily electric utilities, cannot charge a third party the full cost when one of their poles must be replaced. It is the latest in the commission’s yearlong efforts to codify new pole attachment rules and processes to streamline broadband expansion.

For broadband to expand across West Virginia, fiber optic cable needs to be attached to utility poles. But disputes between pole owners and other utilities over capacity, access and cost-sharing have proven to be a major stumbling block for the maintenance and improvement of infrastructure nationally.

In July, the PSC ruled pole owners have a duty to provide for non-discriminatory access to poles by third-party attachers. The PSC said that “all who benefit by using the new pole should bear appropriate cost responsibility,” adding that its interpretation is in line with that of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

How the cost-sharing will be determined is left to the utility involved.

Broadband expansion efforts have also faced recent delays at the federal level. In June, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program was restructured under the new administration of President Donald Trump. The effort aimed to remove “red tape” around the application process, and also sought to make the selection process “technology neutral” by deprioritizing evaluation criteria like the environmental impact of project applications, according to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The Office of Broadband, a branch of the West Virginia Department of Commerce’s Division of Economic Development, has prepared new application procedures for the state to comply with the shift in federal guidelines. 

New applications for projects under the revised BEAD program were released in July.