HR217

WHEREAS, Hawaiian Telcom, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., the subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and Oceanic Time Warner Cable are utility companies in the State, which provide telephone, electric, and cable services via lines using wooden poles within existing city and state street right-of-ways to residential communities and businesses; and

WHEREAS, residents, tenants, and users of urban residential and commercial zoned parcels rely on thousands of wooden poles of various heights for these utility services; and

WHEREAS, a number of these wooden utility poles are in need of removal or replacement due to age, soil conditions, termite infestation, and other reasons that cause the poles to be significantly out of plumb in positioning, aesthetically unsightly, or susceptible to falling during times of adverse weather; and

WHEREAS, currently, Hawaiian Telcom, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., the subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and Oceanic Time Warner Cable do not have any defined restoration plans to remove unnecessary poles, or replace damaged or unsightly wooden utility poles with newer poles; and

WHEREAS, if restoration plans have commenced, restoration and replacement is not done in an even statewide manner as some communities receive newer poles in a more timely manner than others; and

WHEREAS, furthermore, if restoration plans have commenced, the restoration plan does not include sufficient oversight to ensure that the plan is sufficiently completed and done in a timely manner; and

WHEREAS, established restoration plans consisting of the timely removal of unnecessary wooden utility poles or the replacement of damaged or unsightly wooden utility poles implemented by utility companies providing utility services to Hawaii residents are needed in order to protect public safety, increase environmental quality, and continue statewide utility services; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that Hawaiian Telcom, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., the subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and Oceanic Time Warner Cable are urged to develop and establish a restoration plan for the removal of unnecessary wooden utility poles, or the replacement of damaged or unsightly wooden utility poles in a timely manner statewide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the restoration plans developed and implemented by Hawaiian Telcom, Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., the subsidiaries of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., and Oceanic Time Warner Cable include that:

(1) The removal or replacement of wooden utility poles is done within a ninety-day time period from the determination and designation for removal or replacement by a utility company;

(2) A process is developed and implemented to investigate problematic wooden utility poles and designate their removal or replacement;

(3) The process of investigation and designation for removal or replacement covers all communities in which each utility company uses land lines and provides utility services; and

(4) Upon determination and designation for wooden utility pole restoration, proper oversight is implemented over the removal or replacement in order to ensure that the plan is completed properly and done in a timely manner; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Public Utilities Commission, the Executive Director of the Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Telcom, the Chief Executive Officer of Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and the Chief Executive Officer of Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Telephone Poles; Removal or Replacement; Procedures

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	217
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII