FIRST MAJOR POLE ATTACHMENT LITIGATION TO BE HEARD AT PA PUC
March 31, 2020
Pennsylvania recently established jurisdiction over pole attachment issues under 47 U.S.C. Section 224. The applicable regulations essentially apply the FCC’s rules and regulations but provide for Pennsylvania-based disputes to be resolved at the PA PUC. This may mean that there will be an evidentiary hearing before one of the administrative law judges at the PUC. The first case, or at least the first major case, to appear on the PUC’s docket is Verizon v. First Energy. On March 23, 2020, the FCC issued an order transferring to the PA PUC the dispute between Verizon and First Energy that had been pending at the FCC for some time. The order can be found here. Disposition of the case at the PA PUC may be notable if it goes to an evidentiary hearing, because there have been only a couple of cases ever to go to an evidentiary hearing before an FCC ALJ.