Most of us drive by rows of utility poles every day. But how much do we really notice them? These often-overlooked watchmen play an important role in delivering reliable power to the members of Pioneer Electric Cooperative.<\/p>\n
Wind and storms have an obvious effect on utility poles \u2014 sometimes snapping them right in half \u2014 but other elements of nature can also have negative consequences. Excessive moisture, insects, and woodpeckers can cause poles to deteriorate. People can be harmful to poles as well, even if they don\u2019t intend to. Anytime a nail, staple, or other fastener is attached, it creates an additional pathway for water and insects to access and weaken the pole. This is one of the primary reasons that it is illegal to attach anything other than authorized electrical equipment to a utility pole. Anything else \u2014 such as advertisements, posters, deer stands, birdhouses, or basketball hoops \u2014 can lead to damage and will be removed by the cooperative\u2019s employees.<\/p>\n
In addition to reducing the life of the pole, unauthorized attachments can also pose a hazard to Pioneer Electric\u2019s linemen. Nails, tacks, and screws can tear their essential protective gear, like rubber gloves or flame-retardant clothing, exposing workers to the risk of electrical shock.<\/p>\n
Signage is also dangerous for the general community, because it can block the view at busy intersections.<\/p>\n
As part of Pioneer\u2019s annual work plan, utility poles are inspected on a regular basis. Each year, Pioneer contracts a company to examine more than 5,000 poles throughout the cooperative service territory. To check their condition, poles are exposed just below the surface and examined for decay or damage. Those that show signs of weakening are then placed onto the co-op\u2019s list to be repaired or replaced, depending on the nature of the problem.<\/p>\n
Regular inspections and avoiding unapproved attachments helps prolong the lifespan of utility poles. A well-maintained pole can last 20 to 30 years \u2014 sometimes even longer \u2014 and allows Pioneer to continue providing the safe, reliable, affordable power our members depend on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Most of us drive by rows of utility poles every day. But how much do we really notice them? These often-overlooked watchmen play an important role in delivering reliable power to the members of Pioneer Electric Cooperative. Wind and storms have an obvious effect on utility poles \u2014 sometimes snapping them right in half \u2014 but other elements of nature can also have negative consequences. Excessive moisture, insects, and woodpeckers can cause poles to deteriorate. People can be harmful to poles as well, even if they don\u2019t intend to. Anytime a nail, staple, or other fastener is attached, it creates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":939,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937\/revisions\/939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerec.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}