By Steven Allen Adams, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Public Service Commission is taking the side of an internet service provider in a dispute over who pays for pole replacements when adding broadband attachments.
In an order issued Monday, the PSC prohibited Appalachian Power from enforcing a “pre-existing violation” policy to place the cost of repairs or replacement of utility poles on internet service providers, instead of the electric utility that owns the poles.
Appalachian Power has cited its pre-existing violation policy when issues are discovered with the pole or prior attachments to the pole during make-ready, the process of modifying utility poles for new ISP equipment.
