OKLAHOMA CITY – A inquiry into “the hardening and structural resiliency” of wooden utility poles will be conducted by the state Corporation Commission.
Documents provided by the agency indicate staff made initial attempts beginning in August to learn more about the reliability of wooden utility poles used by utilities across the state and whether existing poles meet certain standards. Their initial study examined whether wooden power poles in use now meet requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
State Rep. Mike Dobrinski (R-Okeene) began examining the issue last May to determine whether there was a “possible need for legislation that clarifies or expands” the responsibility of the Corporation Commission to ensure safety and compliance with both federal and state laws.
In a letter to the Corporation Commission, Dobrinski said that during a meeting he he ld with representatives of one telephone company, he discovered none of the firm’s inventory of wooden poles would meet the safety code set by ANSI. At a meeting with one electric cooperative, the legislator was informed that only two poles among approximately 40 in inventory were compliant with ANSI code standards.
At the request of Mike Ryan, the Corporation Commission’s senior attorney for the Public Utility Division, the three commissioners authorized the division to issue a notice of inquiry into the subject.
Technical conferences are scheduled for Dec. 10 at 9:30 a.m. a nd Jan. 8 at 1:30 p .m. The deadline for comments is Dec. 2, and a public hearing on the mat ter is scheduled for Jan. 22 at 1:30 p.m.