quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
If you cut it, would the uneven weight distribution of the cable break the pole and have it fall on a car or shed next door?

For the love, drama much?

I appreciate that he's tried to do the right thing. Thinking that another call that ends up with the same utilities who have declined to remove will resolve this is...... optimistic.

I'm not saying I'd live stream cutting it and stapling it to the pole. I'm definitely not saying I'd keep the cable or put it in my garbage. I'm not even saying I'd use an axe if I didn't have large wire or bolt cutters.

I'm just saying in Houston this time of year sunset is 5:25, and sunrise is 7:11.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Technically, 'Low Voltage' is anything below 600V, so...

I did not know that. When I hear low voltage, I think landscaping stuff. If someone said low voltage utility, I would have thought 120/240. 480 is serious stuff. It is highly unlikely that one would survive their first mistake with 480 to have the opportunity to make a second. Based on the new information of low voltage being less than 600v, I’ve revised my prior thinking that low voltage wasn’t very dangerous. Yikes!

I handle fiber for a living. Overhead is usually Comcast. Contact your municipality. Fiber always requires permits.

Someone in your jurisdiction has a map of utility lines. Heck, your deed may have a list of who has easements to get access to maintain that line, and the visits from ATT/Centerpoint/Xfinity all denying it's theirs cuts the list of suspects.. Anyway, some property recordkeeper (county courthouse/city planning dept/?) knows who owns the line.

While the mystery unfolds, if it was in the way and I needed to raise it up to get access to work/pass underneath in the meantime, I might prop it with a couple of non-conductive poles but I definitely wouldn't cut it.

To me, that appears to be a triplex house service. If it has 2 insulated conductors and 1 bare conductor wrapped with aluminum, it is a 120/240 power line. Cutting the line would result in an arc flash. Call the power company and report trouble and have them send a patrol crew to investigate.

I missed the part where you said it continues on. I thought this terminated in your yard. So, the fire department as suggested would be where I’d start. Still, what crappy work. You’d think they’d knock on your door or leave a note if they needed to leave and come back later. Good luck with it Q.

You've got strand/lashing wire/cable all there. It's not entirely clear from the picture, but I think that's a splice case and slack loop (assuming fiber, although I've never seen a splice case like that). Probably a 50' coil, at least that's what we'd put in handholes.

IDK who owns that plant, but I can tell you to call the PUC if all else fails.

Had a similar issue 10-15 years ago. Called the power company, every cable company in my area and anyone else who had identifiable equipment on the poles in question. Nobody cared.

Called my village and got ahold of someone that had better contacts and after a week or two, the problem was resolved.

In my case, I believe the wire that was down in my yard was an old metal insulated coax cable that was from a long out of business cable company from the 80's. Whoever bought them and their rights out was responsible for resolving the issue.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

I'm not giving expert advise, just what I think, what I'd confirm & what I think I would do.
If it is hot, you should find out who worked on that 2x and get them canned. I'm betting it's data, it's low on the pole. Since 'low voltage' was defined earlier as <600V, I'd say it's 'No Voltage' since it's open and I don't think that covering is watertight. A NCV detector will tell you if it's hot real quick.
Considering the strain support is still connected and it has pulled slack into your area, it's very possibly open on both ends. I might walk ~ a block & see if I could find the other end. If I found it loose, I'd pull the loose end to the pole & wrap it up (keep the trash off my yard). If I wasn't seeing the end pretty damn quickly, I'd have someone 'hit it with a mower' and then collect the loose end on my yard & forget about it.

Not resolved yet but a little update:

I went and talked to the backyard neighbor and found out that it was the Centerpoint Energy crew who were there replacing the old utility pole. What you see there in the first picture is a brand new pole they put in. Why they replaced it who knows, but it was them who screwed up the telecom line in the process. So, I fired off an email to them this morning and respectfully request that they send a crew out and fix the mess they created. If they refuse, I’ll file a complain with the TX Public Utility Commission.

^^ That quite the shiny utility pole you have there. Looks like they forgot to remove the shrinkwrap before they installed it!

Do you have a local TV station that has a consumer assistance segment? If so, I’d email them some pictures with an explanation as to your problem. They may find it interesting enough to do a story and shame someone into coming out and fixing their problem just to stop the bad publicity.

Similarly, if you are in a smaller community, showing up to a city council meeting and showing them your pictures, and asking for help, may get it resolved too.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
So, I fired off an email to them this morning and respectfully request that they send a crew out and fix the mess they created.

I think this is the right way to go about it.

It's a mess in your yard, but it's not your responsibility to clean it up. Have the utility/contractor fix it.

High voltage, low voltage, no voltage... no matter. The crew left it hanging, the crew should put it back up.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Not resolved yet but a little update:

I went and talked to the backyard neighbor and found out that it was the Centerpoint Energy crew who were there replacing the old utility pole. What you see there in the first picture is a brand new pole they put in. Why they replaced it who knows, but it was them who screwed up the telecom line in the process. So, I fired off an email to them this morning and respectfully request that they send a crew out and fix the mess they created. If they refuse, I’ll file a complain with the TX Public Utility Commission.

In a perfect world, the PWR company would now file a NJUNS ticket to notify the comm company that they need to attach to the new pole. The comm company would then come resolve your issue. Realize that the comm company has a timeframe they are supposed to respond in.

In the real world, the PWR company might not input an NJUNS ticket. Delay... The comm company might close the NJUNS ticket without fixing things. Delay... Deadline(s) will be missed. Delay... A "looks good from my house" attitude could be taken by PWR or comms. Yep, you guessed it delay...

NJUNS stands for National Joint Use Notification System. When used properly it's a great too. Sadly tools get misused and abused.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Squeak often and loudly.

I had a somewhat similar situation a few years ago with AT&T and an underground landline they ran on my property line. Most of it was on my property rather than the road right-of-way, but I didn't object because the line was for a relative. I did object to the fact that they didn't smooth the dirt back down over the 200-foot ditch.

I called them and requested they do a little dirt pile work. There answer was the subcontractor had left the premises and I would need to smooth it up myself. I did a "Boss to Cool-hand Luke" imitation. "Your dirt is in my ditch on my property. If I have to get your dirt out of my ditch, I am gonna do you a favor and also dig up your phone line and bring it to your office personally and put it in your floor". They said you can't do that. I replied that maybe I "shouldn't" do it but I damn sure "could do it". Two days later, the crew came back and smoothed it out very nicely! I believe I made them an offer they couldn't refuse! (Nowadays, I probably would have been in a heap of trouble, but back then that wouldn't have been a place I had not had experience in....

The pole is fiberglass. A lot of utilities are trying alternative materials because of the wood-creosote issue. Some claim creosote is bad for the environment and causes cancer.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Not resolved yet but a little update:

I went and talked to the backyard neighbor and found out that it was the Centerpoint Energy crew who were there replacing the old utility pole. What you see there in the first picture is a brand new pole they put in. Why they replaced it who knows, but it was them who screwed up the telecom line in the process. So, I fired off an email to them this morning and respectfully request that they send a crew out and fix the mess they created. If they refuse, I’ll file a complain with the TX Public Utility Commission.

---

** Finally fixed! ** But it wasn’t as simple as above. Centerpoint guy came out that afternoon, and we went in circle again. To paraphrase him, “Nope, not a power line, so we won’t touch it, even though we were the ones who fucked it up”. Not just that, the asshole accused AT&T and Xfinity of lying, when they said the line doesn’t belong to them. After he left, got an email from Centerpoint stating that the issue has been resolved. Unbelievable!

Fired off a complaint to TX PUC Thursday night, fully expecting .gov to drag their feet but was totally surprised. PUC must have gotten on Centerpoint’s ass pronto, because I received an email from them Friday afternoon, “Oh lookie here, we found whom the cable belongs to. It’s PS Lightwave”. Of course, being assholes that they are, they never bothered to notify the cable company. I had to contact them myself.

So, an email was sent to PSL at 5 this morning before going to work. I was shocked that within 8 minutes, they called me and will have a team out to take care of it this morning. And *BOOM*, by the time I got home, it’s gone. Yes, gone. Not raised but gone. Now, that’s responsive prompt customer service. So, as suspected, the cable was just hanging around up there serving no purpose.

Well, that’s my early Christmas present.

quote:

So, an email was sent to PSL at 5 this morning before going to work. I was shocked that within 8 minutes, they called me

That's impressive! Glad you got it resolved.