West Virginia lawmakers and broadband officials are working to resolve disputes between internet service providers and utility companies over poles. And nearby states might have a solution.
In Kentucky, Ohio and other states, lawmakers have created pole replacement funds to speed up their broadband rollouts. Lawmakers have used state and federal money to help internet service providers offset the costs of poles.
These funds work by reimbursing the cost of replacing poles for broadband projects. Utility poles, especially wooden ones, can wear out and internet providers attach fiber lines to poles so homeowners can receive high-speed internet.
However, legislative efforts to create a similar fund in West Virginia stalled out three years ago.
In 2022, Del. Daniel Linville, chairman of the House Technology and Infrastructure Committee, introduced a bill to create more oversight of the state’s broadband expansion. It included the creation of a pole replacement fund administered by the state Office of Broadband.
Linville said the bill had a difficult road through committees and was changed because internet companies, which he believed would take advantage of it, were against it. The House Finance Committee removed the pole fund from the bill early in the legislative process.
The bill had too many moving parts, and the pole fund could’ve been introduced separately, said Del. Vernon Criss, vice chairman of the House Finance Committee at the time.
“If I recall correctly, we determined that particular portion of the bill was not germane,” he said. “That bill had more than one purpose with a lot going on.”
A pole replacement fund could ease the financial burden on internet providers
During an interim committee meeting last month, Linville revisited the idea, asking broadband officials if leftover American Rescue Plan dollars could fund pole replacements. He said the state has $19 million in leftover funds that aren’t yet committed to broadband projects.
Kelly Workman, state broadband office director, said her office would need to submit a new proposal to federal officials and would “look into it.” Linville said in an interview he plans to introduce legislation creating a pole replacement fund during the upcoming session.
Mark Polen, director of the West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association, the trade group for internet and cable providers, said utility companies have floated around the idea of establishing a pole fund using federal money. He said a pole fund is worthy of discussion but stopped short of endorsing the idea.
Other states have already created funds using federal dollars. Two years ago, lawmakers in neighboring Kentucky appropriated $20 million from the state’s federal pandemic relief dollars to establish a pole replacement program. The state granted up to $5,000 per pole to broadband providers charged with replacing them.
Kinsey Woodson, spokesperson for Kentucky’s Office of Broadband Development, said state lawmakers recently updated the fund to include pole owners such as utilities.
Since 2022, seven applications have been approved, and $1.7 million has been granted to internet providers for replacing poles while $2 million has been given to the state electric cooperatives for workforce development.
Tyler Campbell, executive director of the Kentucky Rural Broadband Association, represents rural telecommunication companies deploying broadband in about one-third of the state.
He said that much like West Virginia, Kentucky’s broadband rollout has faced challenges in rural areas because of the state’s rugged topography and low population density.
“The goal is to streamline broadband deployment and expand internet access to as many areas as possible,” he said. “Having a pot of money from the legislature for infrastructure has really helped expedite the process.”
In North Carolina, lawmakers have allocated $100 million in a pole replacement fund. In 2023, Texas lawmakers put $75 million in a fund for the same purpose and have already used $18 million.
In Ohio, lawmakers created a similar fund last year that reimburses providers up to $7,500 per pole from federal funding, said Jarrod Ulrey, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Development.
He said so far, almost 400 poles have been replaced, and $1.4 million has been reimbursed to three providers.
“When we began Ohio’s broadband expansion efforts, it became clear that outdated infrastructure would hold us back,” said Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted. “We created the Pole Replacement and Underground Program to incentivize private investment in broadband infrastructure, so the cost of replacing poles would be shared.”
Broadband providers encounter aging infrastructure
West Virginia’s broadband expansion requires utility companies and internet service providers to work together for fiber lines that need to be attached to utility poles and connect homes to the Internet.
However, as poles age, they need to be replaced. As internet providers request to attach fiber equipment, they say they’ve also been handed the full costs associated with pole replacements, hindering statewide broadband progress.
Utilities have argued that internet companies must replace poles when they aren’t tall enough to fit new equipment. Internet companies say that they have been unfairly charged to replace poles that are too old.
“The problem here in West Virginia is that for decades these pole owners really didn’t manage the poles because no one ever saw broadband coming,” said Jim Martin, Citynet’s president.
Most utility poles are wooden and can last between 30 and 40 years if properly treated and maintained by the pole owner. However, wood decay, rot, bug infestations, or human interference can severely damage poles and require replacement.
Potomac Edison and Mon Power, subsidiaries of First Energy, serve about half a million customers in the northern half of West Virginia. Company spokesperson, Will Boye, said the company has hundreds of thousands of poles in the state and inspects each pole once every 12 years and replaces them if necessary.
“If there is no room on the pole, or if the pole cannot structurally accommodate an attachment, Mon Power and Potomac Edison offer an option to have the poles replaced with either taller poles or additional poles,” he said.
Boye said pole replacements can cost the companies $4,000 or more.
In maintenance testing, the company completes a visual inspection of each pole by checking if the pole is damaged, if the wood inside is decaying and if the equipment on the pole is following national safety code.
George Porter, a spokesperson for Wheeling Power and Appalachian Power said the companies oversee 25,000 miles of transmission lines in the state and thousands of poles.
“These lines and equipment are inspected regularly and maintained by highly qualified and trained personnel to provide our customers with safe and reliable electric service,” he said.
Both Boye and Porter said the companies and their subsidiaries in the state would support legislation that would help pay for pole replacements.