Chelmsford Selectman Testifies on Beacon Hill Against Double Telephone Poles

Chelmsford Selectman Jim Lane has spoken frequently about the topic of double utility poles, particularly in the town center, here in Chelmsford. Recently, he got the chance to speak on that topic again, only to the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. 

Specifically, Lane spoke to members of the committee on a bill called H-2945, which would seek to remove double poles by January 1, 2014 and ensure all future double poles may only last one year at most, imposing fines on those who don’t remove them or respond to notices for their removal.

Chelmsford has 230 miles of public roads and 196 double polls, 67 percent of which have been in place for more than three years.

Lane told the Committee that since January 8, only one has been removed and the growing number of double polls has been a problem in town for decades due to various safety concerns for motorists and pedestrians.

“Removal of double polls  is obviously not a priority for the utility providers and does not add to their profit margins, which may explain the frequent finger pointing when they appear for new pole petitions and are questioned on existing double poles that have not been removed,” said Lane. “Many sets of double poles have only one pole attached to the ground yet continue to carry high voltage wires. In addition, double poles are unsightly and extremely unpopular with neighborhood homeowners and residents.”

Lane added that due to a lack of a law, the utilities often attempt to delay or ignore the issue entirely.

Patch reached out to National Grid spokesperson David Graves, who said the legislation’s ultimate impact if passed would not be quicker removal of the double poles, but unfair penalization of utility companies.

He went on to note that some poles can have as many as four or five separate utilities with wires on a pole, making logistics difficult, with coordination between all these companies and local and state highway construction groups being necessary to remove the poles in an incredibly complicated scheduling process.  

“We can understand how communities are frustrated when double poles are left for an extended period of time,” said Graves. “We’ve stepped up our efforts with other utilities. I don’t know of any laws that could be written to facilitate this, we feel the best route is continuing to increase coordination between utilities.”

H-2945 was sponsored by Kate Hogan (D-Stow) and is supported by State Representatives Jim Arciero, Cory Atkins and Tom Golden in the Chelmsford delegation.

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