CPUC To Consider Fire Hazards of
Cell Sites Above High-Voltage Lines 1

The California Public Utility Commission will hold hearings next week to evaluate previously approved rule changes requested by wireless carriers allowing cell sites above utility pole-mounted high-voltage power lines.

Reports that telecommunications equipment and electrical wiring may have caused the Malibu fires and other fires prompted a CPUC investigation and the upcoming hearings. The first phase of hearings, already completed, have resulted in proposed updated regulations and new requirements. The report mentions that overloaded poles may break, and disallows telecoms from claiming that the new requirements include CPUC-approved cost recovery.

Several carriers filed a motion, which has been denied, asking for a delay in consideration of the new rules until after the Malibu fire investigation is complete (around December 2010). The administrative judge’s denial is justified as follows:

The motion to defer consideration of new pole-loading rules until after the Malibu Fire Investigation is complete is also denied. Any new rules adopted in this rulemaking proceeding will be prospective in their application and have no bearing on the Malibu Fire Investigation, which involves a retrospective investigation of alleged violations. In addition, a number of parties have already submitted proposed changes to the existing pole-loading rules in Phase 2. Several of these proposals have the potential to enhance pole safety. If consideration of these proposals is delayed until after the Malibu Fire Investigation is complete, improvements to pole safety could be delayed by at least a year, since a final decision is not scheduled in the Malibu Fire Investigation until December 2010.

Residents fighting installations of cell sites on utility poles in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas are particularly concerned about the amount, number, and weight of wireless infrastructure installed above poles with high-voltage lines.