Not-for-profit electric cooperatives in Ohio and across the country have been committed to providing safe, reliable, affordable electricity to the local communities they serve since the very first pole was raised in 1935, right here in Ohio. Electric cooperatives remain focused on that mission today and are now also working to help bring high-speed internet to their members.
An organization that calls itself “Connect the Future” and purportedly wants to “bring high-speed internet to more Americans quickly” is challenging one electric cooperative’s commitment to the same mission. Connect the Future is accusing South Central Power Company and two other electric utilities of delaying broadband companies’ access to utility poles to connect rural Ohioans with high-speed internet access. This claim lacks critical context and is the opposite of the principles by which electric cooperatives have operated for nearly 100 years. The group’s agenda is nearly identical to the mission of cooperatives, except for one key distinction—to support broadband expansion quickly, but also safely and responsibly.
Internet service providers (ISPs) must undergo an approval process before they may attach to an electric company’s utility poles. Applications, including documentation and engineering plans, must be carefully reviewed for accuracy and adequacy, and any necessary revisions must be made before they can be approved. Unfortunately, many applications are incomplete, inaccurate, or request pole attachments that are unsafe and in violation of the National Electric Safety Code. When this occurs, the utility asks the applicant to revise and resubmit their application. However, when completed correctly, an application can be approved within 60 days. Any delays this coalition is alleging are not due simply to lack of cooperation on the electric utility’s part – they are due in many cases to the ISP’s failure to resubmit a revised contract.
In some instances, existing poles that may have been standing for decades and were designed only to hold electric power lines must be replaced with poles that can carry multiple sets of wires, like fiber and telecommunications. The replacement of utility poles is costly, and electric companies may ask an ISP to share the cost of pole replacement and future maintenance. Another primary delay in the approval of pole attachment applications is an ISP’s refusal to help cover that cost. Expecting an electric utility to pass that cost on to their members is unreasonable and unrealistic.
Unlike most electric utilities, cooperatives are owned by the members they serve and make decisions with members’ best interests in mind, and that requires balancing safety, speed, cost, and reliability of vital electric service. It is our job as electric cooperatives to ensure the members we serve have access to reliable, affordable electricity, and that commitment won’t be compromised to accommodate ISPs’ desire to extend high-speed internet quickly, but not safely, responsibly, or with concern for the long-term viability of our electric system.
South Central Power Company is one of 25 non-profit electric cooperatives that power 400,000+ Ohio homes and businesses across the state. Ohio’s electric cooperatives are firmly committed to providing reliable, affordable electricity to their members and supporting broadband expansion in the communities they serve.
