Draft Fla. Pole Rules Get Lumen, AT&T Scrutiny

due Nov. 15 on draft rules for pole inspections, repair and replacement, vegetation management and monetary penalties, PSC Senior Attorney Adria Harper said at a livestreamed hearing Wednesday. Staff tried to minimally hit each point of the statute, she said. The agency should revise vegetation management rules that would kick costs from electric to telecom companies, said Lumen Director-Government Affairs Christie Mason. Overgrown plants are a bigger concern for electric companies because contact with power lines could cause a fire; it affects telecom companies only because they share the poles, she said. Lumen will contribute to management costs, but requiring telecoms to pay in full would be an unlawful “regulatory taking,” she said. Lumen seeks flexibility for companies’ pole inspection intervals, said Mason, noting the telco reviews about 2.2 million U.S. poles every 10 years, with about 10% in each jurisdiction inspected annually. AT&T Senior Counsel Tracy Hatch agreed with Lumen concerns on vegetation management, saying the PSC proposal raises technical and logistical issues. Hatch doesn’t see how it helps the commission to require companies to report on how companies trim plants or on how many poles they relocate, he said. PSC Engineering Director Tom Ballinger said the agency isn’t making standards, and information can be useful.