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Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut requires utility pole owners and users to clear double poles by October 2027
Last action · April 7, 2026: File Number 471Sponsors: Nick Gauthier and 32 others
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What This Bill Proposed
The Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill requiring public utility pole owners and equipment users to transfer wires and remove by October 1, 2027. Under the measure, pole users must transfer equipment within 15 days of receiving notice of pole replacement, and the may levy civil penalties up to $100 per day for noncompliance.
Local residents face potential street clutter and safety concerns from lingering , while pole users and electric companies face strict new deadlines and daily financial penalties for failing to clear them.
- Double utility poles occur when a replacement pole is installed alongside an existing one during infrastructure upgrades, but the old pole remains in place because utility companies or third-party attachment users have not yet transferred their wires. context
- The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) regulates rates and services of Connecticut's investor-owned electric and telephone utilities, including Eversource and United Illuminating. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Electric distribution companies
Electric companies must follow strict 15-day deadlines to transfer their own equipment and remove old poles after user completion, and maintain records of double poles.
Telephone companies
Telephone companies are subject to replacement and removal deadlines, written notice obligations, and potential daily civil penalties for noncompliance.
Utility pole equipment users
Cable, broadband, and other third-party equipment users must transfer their equipment within 15 days of receiving notice or face having pole owners do the work and bill them at prevailing wage rates.
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority
PURA is authorized to oversee reporting lists, adopt regulations, and issue civil penalties of up to $100 per day for violations.
Key Facts
- Owners of public utility poles must deliver written notice of planned removal and replacement work to each pole user at least 72 hours before work begins, or after completion for emergency hazardous work.
- Utility pole equipment users must transfer their equipment from an existing pole to a replacement pole within 15 days of receiving notice.
- If a user fails to transfer equipment within 15 days, the pole owner may complete the transfer work on the user's behalf and bill them based on prevailing wage rates.
- Electric distribution companies and telephone companies must transfer their own equipment and remove replaced poles within 15 days after receiving notice that all users have completed their transfers.
Show all 9 facts
- Beginning October 1, 2026, utility pole owners must compile and maintain a list of double utility poles that have existed for at least 30 days and provide it to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority upon request.
- By October 1, 2027, all double utility poles must be eliminated by their owners.
- The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority may impose civil penalties of up to $100 per day for each violation of the transfer, removal, or reporting requirements.
- Civil penalties collected under the bill are remitted to the Commissioner of Social Services to fund the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program.
- Utility pole users are exempt from civil penalties if prevented from transferring equipment solely due to a municipality's failure to timely remove municipal equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a double utility pole under this bill?
How long do equipment users have to move their wires to a new pole?
Where do collected civil penalties go?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the Senate floor.
Procedural history
9 actions- Apr 7, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 471
- Apr 7, 2026SenateSenate Calendar Number 283
- Apr 7, 2026SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
- Apr 7, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Mar 30, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/07/26 12:00 PM
- Mar 20, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 19, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable Substitute
- Mar 6, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 03/12
- Mar 5, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Energy and Technology
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 28 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Penalty Revenue Dedicated to Energy Assistance
Civil penalties collected from utility companies and users for failing to clear poles are directly channeled to fund the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program.
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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