Mission Valley Power replaces poles in Hot Springs

Mission Valley Power is currently engaged in a project to replace utility poles in Hot Springs as part of ongoing and standard maintenance procedures. Inspectors with the power company recently surveyed poles in the area and deemed the replacement necessary according to normal operating procedure.

Engineering Manager with MVP Kerry Weidrich said the project was part of a continuous effort to ensure the poles that hold up utility lines remained consistent with their standards.

“We test the poles every year. The new poles will be close to the location of the old ones. We are constantly undertaking these kinds of projects,” said Weidrich.

Weidrich said the old poles will be removed if possible but they would remain if customers have meters or standpipes attached. Weidrich said customers with standpipes on the old poles are welcome to stay on them but he recommended that other options be considered by homeowners with poles on their property.

Weidrich said that if equipment such as meters or standpipes remained on the old pole, the company would cut off the excess above the equipment and leave the remaining piece behind. Weidrich said homeowners opting to move equipment to the new pole would be responsible for paying someone to do the work.

“People can stay on the old pole until they make other arrangements but we do recommend that they eventually get off the old pole,” said Weidrich.

One Hot Springs resident affected by the project Bill Tuss said there was initially some confusion regarding the replacement of the old poles. Tuss said he was told the old pole would be the homeowners’ responsibility and that liability for the nearly 30 year old poles would transfer to the homeowner. Tuss said the crew performing the work informed him of this prior to completing the job.

“They told me essentially this was my pole now and I was responsible for it. They have deemed these poles obsolete so I thought I was going to have to deal with it,” said Tuss.

When reached for comment, Weidrich said this was not the case. Weidrich said responsibility for the old poles still lies with Mission Valley Power but he reiterated the company recommends that residents get off the pole so they can be removed.

Tuss who spent 30 years as a community developer also mentioned that he thought it was strange that the local telephone company and MVP were not sharing the poles. Tuss was concerned that with Hot Springs Telephone Company and the power company using different poles created an eyesore on the landscape of Hot Springs.

“They really should be using the same poles. It’s ugly to have a bunch of poles dotting the landscape. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be cooperating so we don’t need to have so many in the ground,” said Tuss.