“The electric company is the most important user of utility poles,” he told NHPR. New Hampshire’s consumer advocate Don Kreis, who argues on behalf of ratepayers at the Commission, agrees Eversource would be a good owner of the poles. “Outages and restoration costs can be avoided by a more proactive inspection and replacement of poles, so the poles are capable of withstanding physical impact.” “Customers will benefit through an improvement of reliability and resiliency of the pole inventory,” she said. Tree-trimming crews along utility corridors play a key role in limiting branches and trees from falling on utility lines and interupting customer service.Įversource at the hearing, said it would be good for Eversource to own the poles because it would increase the reliability of electricity service. Jessica Ralston, an attorney representing
Now, Eversource wants to buy all of the poles. Consolidated stopped paying for maintaining the trees in 2019, resulting in millions of dollars in unpaid “vegetation management” bills from Eversource. But the companies have had disputes over who should pay for trimming the trees around the poles. Right now, Eversource and Consolidated own many of the poles in Eversource’s territory together. Many of the details of that deal are confidential, pending a final decision by the Public Utilities Commission about whether the purchase price and other information should be public. The state’s consumer advocate and the Department of Energy say ratepayers would lose out in a deal Eversource and Consolidated have asked state regulators to approve. That’s an important question, parties involved agree, because keeping the poles safe and the trees around them trimmed allows utility customers to get stable electricity and telephone service.īut the case before the PUC is more complicated than just ownership. “There is a fundamental question for the commission, and that is: who should own the poles?” he said.
The Public Utilities Commission held a hearing Tuesday on a controversial deal between the state’s largest electric utility and telecommunications company Consolidated Communications, which provides internet, TV and phone service in New Hampshire.Īt the end of hours of testimony over the course of two hearings on the sale of many of the state’s utility poles, Patrick McHugh, an attorney representing Consolidated Communications, said state regulators’ jobs were straightforward. If you’re in Eversource’s service territory, the utility poles in your area could soon switch ownership.