West Virginia Utilities Win Concessions in Broadband Pole Dispute
State task force weakens utility reporting requirements, despite calls for more oversight.
Jericho Casper
Feb. 10, 2025 – A state task force convened to address West Virginia’s pole attachment disputes weakened key transparency mandates in its final recommendations, following objections from major utilities companies that own the state’s poles.
The outcome has raised concerns that continued delays in broadband infrastructure access could slow the state’s $1.2 billion broadband expansion funded by the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
The task force, which included state regulators, broadband officials, internet providers, and utilities, was convened at the direction of the West Virginia Public Service Commission, chaired by Charlotte Lane, to craft solutions for longstanding disputes over pole attachment costs and delays.
One of the group’s most significant proposals was to establish a rapid response team modeled after the Federal Communications Commission’s process to mediate disputes more quickly. While this recommendation remained intact, utilities successfully blocked efforts to expand oversight that broadband advocates said were critical to ensuring fair pole access.
The West Virginia Broadband Office and Broadband Enhancement Council had called for the recommendations to include a stronger role for broadband officials to participate in pole attachment disputes and mediation; and more detailed reporting from utilities on pole conditions, including data on capacity, height, and structural integrity.
Utilities objected to both proposals, arguing that additional reporting would be costly and that pole condition data wasn’t readily available in a centralized database. Utilities on the task force include Mon Power and Potomac Edison, both subsidiaries of FirstEnergy, and Appalachian Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power.
The task force ultimately sided with the utilities, recommending that West Virginia follow existing FCC pole inspection regulations rather than impose new state-specific requirements.
PSC staff, however, challenged the utilities’ claims, writing in the task force’s final report that utilities should already have this data and that transparency would provide a “significant benefit for all stakeholders truly interested in promoting broadband expansion in West Virginia.”
Charter Communications, which operates broadband services in West Virginia, emphasized that states with streamlined processes — such as Maine and Ohio — have seen faster broadband deployment.
“Similar programs in Maine and Ohio to bring parties together and quickly address disputes have been enormously helpful in speeding pole attachments in those states,” a Charter spokesperson told Mountain State Spotlight. ”
The Public Service Commission will review the task force’s recommendations following a two-week public comment period before deciding whether to implement them.
