Ryncavage, lawmakers seek to hold telecommunications utilities accountable

Aug. 26—WILKES-BARRE — State Rep. Alec Ryncavage this week said he has introduced House Bill 1619 that would direct the Public Utility Commission to develop rules to address the need for utility companies to relocate their facilities onto new poles and to help ensure the removal of unused or "ghost" poles, which he said are often both unsafe and unsightly.

"Telephone or electric poles are a common sight in our districts and necessary to provide services that are integral to our constituents' lives, but they also have a lifespan and need to be replaced due to their age or an accident that renders them to be unstable," Ryncavage said. "Having old, unused and unstable utility poles lingering is unsafe and unsightly, so I'm introducing this bill to create a meaningful timeline for the PUC to use its authority to establish reasonable timelines for companies to relocate services to new poles and quickly dispose of poles no longer in service."

Ryncavage's proposed legislation is one of several bills that a group of state House lawmakers representing primarily rural areas of the Commonwealth has introduced that are aimed at holding telecommunications companies accountable to their customers.

Some of the measures come in response to a series of public input hearings hosted by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) in Tioga, Bradford and Wyoming counties.

In addition to Ryncavage, R-Plymouth, the lawmakers include Reps. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga/Bradford; Tina Pickett, R-Bradford/Wyoming; Marty Causer, R-Cameron/McKean/Potter; Joe Hamm, R-Lycoming/Sullivan; and Jonathan Fritz, R-Susquehanna/Wayne.

The measures are as follows:

—House Bill 1620 (Owlett): Would require telecommunication companies to respond within 90 minutes of being notified of downed lines resulting from a motor vehicle accident. If the company does not have someone actively on the scene within 90 minutes, they would be required to reimburse a volunteer fire company securing the scene $1,000 per hour they have to wait for the telephone company to show up.

—House Bill 1621 (Pickett): Would require a telecommunications company to notify a customer if their service person will not be showing up for a scheduled appointment. If they fail to show up for the scheduled appointment and fail to notify the customer, they will be required to reimburse the customer $25 per hour for the window of time they had the customer stay at home waiting for them.

—House Bill 1622 (Causer): Would hold telecommunication utilities financially accountable when they fail to maintain backup infrastructure to keep 911 operating even when there is a telephone service outage. When 911 services fail, firefighters must man their fire stations in case members of the community drive there to seek emergency services. The bill would require telecommunications companies to compensate the volunteer fire departments at a rate of $1,000 per hour.

—House Bill 1623 (Fritz): Would require a telecommunications company that has a formal complaint brought against it via the PUC to provide both the PUC and the General Assembly with a formal report of all the broken poles, compromised lines or line junction infrastructure that is not currently up to industry and PUC standards. This report would be due six weeks after the formal complaint is made with the PUC, and the information would help the General Assembly in drafting legislation to keep communities safe.

—House Bill 1624 (Hamm): Would require county Emergency Management Coordinators (EMCs) to report to the PUC any power outage that takes down a 911 landline system. Generally, landline systems still work during a power outage if the telecommunications company has properly maintained its generators or batteries that keep those phones working. In rural Pennsylvania, landlines remain prominent and relevant due to limited cellular coverage. The lack of 911 service is a serious public safety issue and the utility must be held accountable for its failure to take the steps necessary to keep the system up and running.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.