§ 119-A — Attachments to utility poles; use of utility ducts, trenches and conduits

§ 119-a. Attachments to utility poles; use of utility ducts, trenches\nand conduits. 1. The commission shall prescribe just and reasonable\nrates, terms and conditions for attachments to utility poles and the use\nof utility ducts, trenches and conduits. A just and reasonable rate\nshall assure the utility of the recovery of not less than the additional\ncost of providing a pole attachment or of using a trench, duct or\nconduit nor more than the actual operating expenses and return on\ncapital of the utility attributed to that portion of the pole, duct,\ntrench or conduit used. With respect to cable television and broadband\ninternet attachments and use, such portion shall be the percentage of\ntotal usable space on a pole or the total capacity of the duct or\nconduit that is occupied by the facilities of the user. Usable space\nshall be the space on a utility pole above the minimum grade level which\ncan be used for the attachment of wires and cables. With respect to\ncable television and broadband internet attachments and use, a contract\nfor attachments to utility poles and the use of utility ducts, trenches\nand conduits shall include all such poles, ducts, trenches and conduits\nlocated within a given village, town or city, pursuant to a negotiated\nsite license and any applicable commission requirements, provided that\nsuch contract shall not impede the right of a pole owner to issue\nlicenses based on inspections undertaken on a pole-specific basis.\n 2. In connection with a new pole attachment, in no instance shall a\npole owner avoid responsibility for pole replacement costs by\nunreasonably postponing replacement until receiving a new attachment\nrequest, nor may a pole owner require a requesting attacher to pay the\nentire cost of such pole replacement or for bringing a pole or\nthird-party equipment into compliance with current safety and\nconstruction standards when replacement or compliance upgrades are not\nnecessitated solely by the new attacher.\n 3. Where a pole owner performs a pole replacement to accommodate an\nattachment request, the pole owner may not require the attacher, or any\nexisting attacher, to pay any portion of the cost of such replacement,\nexcept where there is insufficient capacity, clearance or loading to\naccommodate the request.\n 4. The public service commission, in cooperation with the state\nbroadband program office, shall initiate a proceeding to examine a\nprocess for streamlining actions related to utility pole attachments.\nThe matters the commission shall consider in such proceeding shall\ninclude: (a) dispute resolution models related to utility pole\nattachments; (b) cost sharing models related to utility pole\nattachments; (c) impact on the expansion of broadband into unserved and\nunderserved areas associated with alternative cost allocation scenarios;\n(d) requiring new, less expensive pole attachment methods; and (e)\nexisting rules regarding the cost obligations associated with new pole\nattachments and an assessment of the utility ratepayer and broadband\nsubscriber impacts associated with alternative cost allocation\nscenarios, including but not limited to if a pole replacement is\nnecessitated because of insufficient vertical space or clearance to\naccommodate an attachment request, or the attachment will exceed\nloading, making the requesting attacher liable for the following costs\nin connection with the replacement: (a) the remaining net book value of\nthe pole being replaced that, but for the new attachment, could have\nremained in service until such time as it was fully depreciated and/or\nreached the end of its service life or used and useful life to the pole\nowner, whichever would come first; and (b) the incremental costs\nassociated with the pole owner installing a pole beyond what said owner\nwould have installed in its normal course of pole replacement, if\napplicable to the request. The commission shall invite participation in\nthe proceeding by diverse stakeholders, including electric utilities,\nmunicipal utilities, incumbent local exchange carriers, competitive\nlocal exchange carriers, telecommunications providers, broadband\ninternet providers, municipalities, economic development corporations,\nand an association of counties that represents at least ninety percent\nof the counties in New York. On or before September thirtieth, two\nthousand twenty-two, the commission shall issue an order adopting the\nnew or revised rules associated with the matters examined in the\nproceeding provided for in this subdivision.\n 5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the public\nservice commission to interfere in any manner with provisions of\ncollective bargaining agreements relating to pole attachment work\nbetween a utility corporation, telephone corporation, cable television\ncorporation or any entity subject to article eleven of this chapter and\nits employees.\n