Floodlights on phone co utility pole.

Status
Not open for further replies.
starsandstripes said:
My boss wants me to trench to an existing phone company utility pole and install floods. Illegal right? Anyone know the code section? We are still under 2014.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I doubt there's a code section for this, at least not an NFPA code. Try the criminal code, under "trespass".
 
Not an NEC issue. If the owner of the pole grants you permission to do so then it is ok.

Some places this does happen, others you don't put anything on the pole, not even a temporary yard sale sign or something like that, though many do get away with it.
 
kwired said:
Not an NEC issue. If the owner of the pole grants you permission to do so then it is ok.

Some places this does happen, others you don't put anything on the pole, not even a temporary yard sale sign or something like that, though many do get away with it.
Click to expand...

Yep, PSEG is like that around here. You can't blame them; some folks use nails and screws or whatever and eventually that has to compromise the pole.
 
starsandstripes said:
My boss wants me to trench to an existing phone company utility pole and install floods. Illegal right? Anyone know the code section? We are still under 2014.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Posts 2 and 3 are correct. You can't put anything on a pole without the pole owner's permission. We didn't give permission to anyone other than the phone company and the cable company, with whom we had long-standing formal agreements. Thinking it's no big deal to trench to someone else's pole and mount a couple of lights 25 feet up shows incredibly poor judgment on your boss's part.
 
gadfly56 said:
eventually that has to compromise the pole.
Click to expand...

50 years ago when I worked for a poco, the reason was that nails left from signs were a safety concern for linemen using spurs. A very valid concern.

It has been decades since anyone has seen a lineman (excuse me PC police, lineperson) using spurs, so that reason has disappeared.

Power posts and even stop signs are totally littered with nails nowadays out in my neighborhood. County now replaces traffic posts with metal vs. 4x4s.

Being still adverse to crap on post and folks to lazy to pull the nails, still like to post a post it onto "cat lost" signs reading 'the OWL got yer cat', if an eagle has been spotted in the area recently, "The eagle got yer cat".
 
Iron_Ben said:
Posts 2 and 3 are correct. You can't put anything on a pole without the pole owner's permission. We didn't give permission to anyone other than the phone company and the cable company, with whom we had long-standing formal agreements. Thinking it's no big deal to trench to someone else's pole and mount a couple of lights 25 feet up shows incredibly poor judgment on your boss's part.
Click to expand...

Many POCO's charge the TELCO or CATV companies a fee for every POCO pole they make an attachment to. Still cost less then setting their own pole though.

OP's boss or owner of the light in OP may or may not have gotten permission to use said pole.
 
The employee is just doing what the boss told him to do. If it's wrong, the boss can pay him to change it.
 
mgookin said:
The employee is just doing what the boss told him to do. If it's wrong, the boss can pay him to change it.
Click to expand...

If the POCO drops a dime to the PoPo while the employee is on the ladder/bucket installing the light, it won't be the boss wearing chrome bracelets.
 
gadfly56 said:
If the POCO drops a dime to the PoPo while the employee is on the ladder/bucket installing the light, it won't be the boss wearing chrome bracelets.
Click to expand...

I seriously doubt doing his job under employer orders on something like that would pass the test of being considered "criminal trespass". Now if, while up there, he refused to come down and forced law enforcement and the fire dept to physically remove him, that might qualify for the bracelets, but that would be just plain stupid to take it that far.

The other issue not mentioned is if this pole is strictly a phone company pole, no power on it already, adding your light circuit to it in theory exposes the phone company workers to conditions beyond their control. So even if not arrested in the process, the phone company could (and likely would) force your employer to take it down. But as mentioned, you get paid twice for it... :roll:
 
starsandstripes said:
My boss wants me to trench to an existing phone company utility pole and install floods. Illegal right? Anyone know the code section? We are still under 2014.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

Better get written permission before doing that. Bring up all the concerns mentioned here to your boss. The first word out of my mouth would be "liability", the second two "probably illegal".

Some bosses dont like to hear that stuff. I dont care. If I can save my employer from royally hosing up, I WILL mention it. Besides, doing work twice is the most aggravating thing to me. Do it right the first time.

Is this also a power pole? If so, I seriously doubt you will get permission to do what you are asked. I have seen thousands of poles, not one to my knowledge has customer (private) lights on them.

I seriously doubt you'd get handcuffs, however I suspect a HIGH chance of tearing it all back down/off, sinking your own pole, and redoing the work. jm2c.
 
RLyons said:
Around here if you call and ask for a light the utility will put one and power it for a small monthly charge.
Click to expand...
OP sort of indicates this is telephone company's pole. They may be able to give you a new line and phone jack on that pole, maybe even an internet connection, but probably not a light.:)
 
JFletcher said:
Better get written permission before doing that. Bring up all the concerns mentioned here to your boss. The first word out of my mouth would be "liability", the second two "probably illegal".

Some bosses dont like to hear that stuff. I dont care. If I can save my employer from royally hosing up, I WILL mention it. Besides, doing work twice is the most aggravating thing to me. Do it right the first time.

Is this also a power pole? If so, I seriously doubt you will get permission to do what you are asked. I have seen thousands of poles, not one to my knowledge has customer (private) lights on them.

I seriously doubt you'd get handcuffs, however I suspect a HIGH chance of tearing it all back down/off, sinking your own pole, and redoing the work. jm2c.
Click to expand...
I've seen many poles that technically belong to the customer and they can mount anything they want on them. On the rural electric systems around here, the main lines running along the roads are the POCO's poles, if you are off the road and they run additional poles to your place, those poles are yours. POCO installs and maintains them, but you were charged for them when they put them in (at least in newer installs). They may not charge you what a contractor would charge you but they do want some compensation anymore for new line constructions where years ago there was no charge. How good of a deal you get may depend on your expected power consumption.
 
I think we have made a mountain out of a mole hill. Talk of arrests .... Police involvement. :D

It's flood lights on a pole, I would mention it to the boss but if he said do it I would not think twice about it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top