The term “double pole” refers to the situation when a replacement utility pole is built alongside the pole to be replaced for the purpose of transferring the electric, telephone, cable, or other wires from one pole to the other.
Over time, utility poles in your community may require replacement because of:
- System upgrades that the existing pole cannot accommodate;
- Construction projects or municipal road work that requires a new pole; or
- Safety issues, including if the pole is in danger of failing.
In Framingham, most of our double poles are doubled up due to car crashes, citing safety issues, where the pole is at risk of failing or falling.
Mass General Laws, Part I, Title XXII, Chapter 164, Section 34B states that when a double pole is created, the original pole must be removed within 90 days. except for in the case of a construction project that is expected to take over a year, the double pole must be remediated within 6 months.
Last night, Eversource revealed a spreadsheet to city council documenting all the double poles in Framingham, many of which have been doubled up for up to 2000 days. We have requested that spreadsheet. In that meeting Eversource gave no indication that the double pole backlog in Framingham would be fixed any time soon, making no promises, timetables, or any indication that the city would be a priority. To make matters worse, the city council has created another ad hoc committee to study the matter, further delaying any action.
The correct corrective action would be to create a policy to say no, to any requests by Eversource going forward in the city, without hurting entities within the city, residents and businesses, by saying yes to any projects initiated by residents and businesses. Essentially we hinder Eversource from doing the things they want to do – at every turn, while allowing Eversource to service taxpayers in the city. This would provide an impetus for Eversource to fix the backlog of double poles.
While we wait the month it will take the city to produce the FOIA requested spreadsheet, that was discussed without it being publicly available, a violation of the Open Meeting Laws, in the mean time we will provide you the Double Pole Report issued by Eversource in January 2023.
This document covers poles for the 6 months from May to October 2022.
Click to enlarge the pages below.
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