Conn. Utility Sees Pole Attachment 'Avalanche'
Eversource “can’t keep up” with a growing “avalanche” of pole attachment requests under the state’s current cost structure, said Assistant General Counsel Vincent Pace at a Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) virtual hearing Monday. With increasing broadband demand, the…
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utility expects 70,000 attachment requests this year, up from 4,600 in 2016, he said. The company spent $11 million last year for operation and maintenance costs and $19 million capital for make-ready work, he said: In 2022, it expects $19 million and $32 million, respectively. “We just do not have the resources to meet this level of work, and unless we have a different framework in place, the effort to expand broadband will simply be frustrated.” Eversource suggests that pole attachers cover a larger share of costs. Communications attachers that trigger pole make-ready work “should pay for their proportionate share using cost-causation principles.” Owners should be able to use a portion of pole rental revenue to pay for the work, he said: Currently, any increase in annual rental revenue goes back to electric customers. Eversource plans to explore if federal infrastructure dollars can be used to fund work; attachers should do the same, he said. “After exhausting all these steps, if the work is still not funded, we propose to defer the amount for PURA’s review at the time of our next rate case.” Eversource doesn’t object to adopting the FCC’s approach to one-touch, make-ready. Stakeholders commented last month in the same docket (19-01-52RE01).