West Virginia Public Service Commission Clarifies Rules On Pole Replacement Cost Allocations

As part of an effort to facilitate broadband deployment, and closely tracking recent FCC decisions with respect to the assignment of cost responsibility for pole replacements, the West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) declared on October 15, 2025 that pole owners – not broadband providers – must pay to replace utility poles that already have been "red tagged" for replacement as too old, unsafe, or deteriorated.

The PSC order clarifies an August 2025 pole attachment order, which "in line with the FCC's recent interpretation of its own rules," required that costs of pole replacements should be shared by all beneficiaries, not imposed entirely on new attachers. The West Virginia PSC's October 15^th order clarified that "red-tagged poles," i.e. those "already slated for replacement" or "that require replacement due to age, deterioration, safety violations, accident, or any other cause," must be replaced at the cost of the pole owners. The PSC also observed that