W.Va. PSC Targets Pole Attachment Process Duplication

West Virginia pole owners are negotiating to streamline the attachment process amid scrutiny from the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The PSC granted a staff petition Wednesday to open a show-cause proceeding meant to speed broadband attachment reviews by joint pole owners Frontier Communications and Monongahela Power and Potomac Edison (MP/PE). The PSC gave Frontier and MP/PE until Dec. 15 to file a proposed addendum to their 1988 joint use agreement to speed up and reduce costs to process third-party attachment requests. The company may alternatively file a new agreement replacing the 1988 pact, said the commission: MP/PE must also file by that date their “policy and procedure” for reviewing applications. “Mon Power and Potomac Edison expect to file the information the PSC has requested by the timeline set by the Commission,” parent FirstEnergy’s spokesperson emailed Friday. “We are working with Frontier to streamline the application process for other companies that want to attach to our poles.” West Virginia PSC staff asked the commission May 13 to require Frontier to show cause why the PSC shouldn’t stop the carrier from requiring duplicative pole-attachment applications, timelines and fees from third parties seeking to attach broadband facilities. Due to the 1988 agreement, attachers have had to file applications to both Frontier and MP/PE. Staff said that may cause delays. Frontier responded Oct. 5 that the issue could be resolved outside of a commission proceeding, and PSC staff said Nov. 10 it had met with the pole owners to negotiate an agreement. While praising pole owners and PSC staff for their progress, the commission said Wednesday it remains concerned “about the timeliness and efficiency of the review process and the costs charged for review of pole attachment applications.” Pole attachments “should continue as expeditiously and economically as possible while also ensuring adherence with safety standards,” it said. The PSC also granted a Citynet petition to intervene. The telecom company says it has “been prejudiced in the past by the Joint Use Agreement and generally by Frontier’s ineffective response to pole attachment requests,” the PSC said. In the past decade, Citynet says it submitted at least 828 applications for attachment to joint-use poles and other Frontier poles, paying nearly $529,000 in application fees to Frontier, the PSC said. Frontier and Citynet didn't comment now.