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PURA declines immediate prioritization of pole-attachment applications tied to Connected Communities grants
Summary
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on July 23 declined a state agency request to require prioritization of pole-attachment applications for projects funded by the Connected Communities grant program, saying awardees had not yet filed applications and the make-ready workload was unknown.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on July 23, 2025, voted to adopt a supplemental decision declining a Department of Energy and Environmental Protection request to require prioritization of pole‑attachment applications tied to the Connected Communities grant program. The decision was made during a remote teleconference meeting of the authority.
Authority staff explained that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) asked PURA to prioritize applications and processes associated with projects awarded funding through the Connected Communities grant program because federal requirements call for deployments to be completed by December (the transcript did not specify a year). Staff told the commissioners the authority conducted written discovery and held a technical meeting to learn what make‑ready work would be required and the status of the awardees’ deployments.
Staff reported that, at the time of the supplemental decision, the grant awardees had not submitted any pole‑attachment applications to poll administrators and that the volume and type of make‑ready work remained unknown. Because of that uncertainty, staff concluded there was no way to determine how formal prioritization would affect the current backlog poll administrators are facing and recommended declining to require prioritization at this time. The decision allows DEEP to renew its request after awardees submit applications or provide clearer estimates of the required make‑ready work.
The supplemental decision includes a drafted proposal that would detail how prioritization could be implemented within the pole‑attachment process, how the one‑touch make‑ready and self‑help processes might be used to expedite work, and whether prior one‑touch make‑ready (OTMR) decisions would need modification to permit prioritization. Staff recommended the supplemental decision for the commissioners’ adoption, and the panel adopted the decision by roll call vote with all present voting yes.
The action preserves the status quo for pole‑attachment application processing while keeping open the option for DEEP to request prioritization later, once applicants and required make‑ready scopes are known. No changes to processing priorities were ordered at the July 23 meeting.
