Cancel Clutter on the Pole

You name it and Bruce Goss said he has probably seen it nailed to a utility pole.

Goss, United Cooperative Services’ systems operations engineering manager, said he has seen basketball hoops, satellite dishes, birdfeeders, more than a few light fixtures, lots of garage sale signs and even some more exotic items attached to United’s power poles.

One enterprising member wanted to create a tropical vibe on their property, Goss said, and turned their power pole into a palm tree, complete with fake palm fronds.

“We understand that people lose pets and have garage sales, so they post signs on our poles,” Goss said. “It seems like a harmless thing to do. Over time they create a hazard for our linemen. Staples and nails used to affix a sign stick around a lot longer than the sign does,  and that can puncture protective gloves that linemen use. Also, debris or anything at all attached to the poles makes it more difficult for our guys to access electric lines, and that’s a bad thing during an emergency or outage.”

United linemen and contractors see basketball hoops attached to utility poles regularly. Aside from creating a hazard for linemen and impeding their quick access to electric lines, the stress of continuous vibrations on the pole can, over time, loosen the connections of infrastructure attached to the pole, making the line susceptible to failure. The backboard can act as a sail during high winds, placing undue stress on the pole, Goss said. Pressure-treated and sealed, poles resist moisture and insects when structurally sound. Putting holes or brackets in the poles degrades the integrity of the poles over time, leaving them vulnerable to the elements.

Debris on power poles can pose a safety risk, said Pat Griffith, United’s safety & loss control coordinator. What may seem like a harmless addition to a power pole can make the difference between a safe repair and a dangerous situation.  

“Our line crews work around the clock in all types of weather conditions,” Griffith said. “Attaching homemade signs, banners and brackets to utility poles can cause serious hazards. It impacts the ability of our line crews to do their work safely.”

United owns and maintains the utility poles and distribution lines attached to them, says Blake Beavers, senior vice president of corporate strategy & member services at United. They do not belong to the landowner. United has a responsibility to its membership to protect its infrastructure from possible damage caused by any foreign objects attached to the poles.

“The membership bears the cost of removing unwanted items from power poles,” Beavers said. “Aside from the more important safety issue, removing junk from poles costs money. We don’t want things on our structures. So, we have to send crews to take everything down. There’s a cost to roll a truck, and there’s the cost of labor. That can financially impact the overall co-op and its membership.”

United routinely inspects its infrastructure to ensure that poles are structurally sound, that they comply with applicable safety codes and that they are accessible for climbing by linemen, says Jared Wennermark, senior vice president of planning  & procurement.  

“It is important that attachments are not made to the pole that can create an unsafe condition for the public, interfere with access for climbing or maintenance, or even degrade the condition of the pole,” Wennermark said.