Hearing set for bills that address unsightly, dangerous double poles

On June 18, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy will hold a hearing on a series of bills intended to expedite the removal of an estimated 30,000 doubled-up telephone poles in Massachusetts.

The MMA will be testifying at the hearing, and the committee is asking cities and towns to provide pictures of unsightly double poles.

When a pole is damaged or has reached the end of its life, utility companies often attach a new pole to a portion of the old one, creating a “double pole.” State law (Ch. 164, Sec. 34B) requires double poles to be removed within 90 days because they are unsightly and pose a safety hazard, but the law lacks an enforcement mechanism.

The MMA’s legislative package for 2013-2014 includes a bill (H. 2952), filed by Rep. Stephen Kulik of Worthington, that would authorize cities and towns to enforce the provisions of Section 34B of Chapter 164 and require utility companies to remove double poles within 90 days or be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000 per occurrence.

Last year, the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy endorsed legislation (H. 3380) that would have required the Department of Public Utilities and the Department of Telecommunications and Cable to jointly issue new regulations within one year to deal with double poles. No further action was taken on the legislation, however.

The regulations would have included a statewide fine structure that communities could use at local option. The bill also would have created a double-pole remediation advisory council, composed of utility companies, union representatives and municipal officials, to work through details such as the pole lifecycle management system and the backlog of double-pole complaints.

The MMA is asking communities to send photos of their most egregious double poles to tphilbin@mma.org.