July 25, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti

*The 97-foot-tall utility pole is located in the Kimberly Lane neighborhood on lower Blush Hill. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

Work is underway in the Kimberly Lane neighborhood on Blush Hill to replace a nearly 100-foot-tall VELCO utility pole that has been deemed an “emergency situation” due to the pole’s deterioration.

The Vermont Public Utility Commission late Wednesday approved the project to start immediately after inspectors last week discovered the poor condition of the pole.

VELCO officials told state regulators that power is now turned off to the line that runs through the Duxbury-Waterbury-Stowe corridor until a replacement pole and new accompanying structure can be installed between several single-family homes and a 60-unit apartment complex.

The pole is one of 10 laminate poles installed along this line about 15 years ago that have begun to fail and need to be replaced. VELCO officials told state regulators that they expected the poles to last for decades, yet recent events and inspections reveal decay that could result in the structures breaking.

Work began Thursday on the project which will involve the installation of a total of four new poles – one in place of the failing pole, and another three-pole structure nearby. VELCO officials say they expect the project to take about two weeks to complete.

Inspection prompts emergency request

The Duxbury-to-Stowe power line installed in 2009 has approximately 130 pole structures, 10 of which are laminate. The material is “engineered wood” with interior layers held together with adhesive and the exterior coated in a laminate resembling wood, VELCO spokeswoman Shana Louiselle explained.

*In April, VELCO replaced a deteriorating laminate pole on the same power line at the intersection of Blush Hill Road and Kimberly Drive. This is the new pole. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

At the time the line was constructed, the laminate poles were chosen for their more aesthetic appearance and their cost was more economical, Louiselle said. They also were expected to last about 70 years, company officials testified.

Problems arose earlier this spring when one of the laminate poles in Duxbury failed and snapped, falling to the ground. It was found to have decayed due to moisture inside the pole, Louiselle said.

An emergency replacement was made and the incident prompted VELCO to schedule inspections and replacements of the other laminate poles along the line. So far, six of the 10 have been replaced, all of which were swapped with similar traditional wooden poles which did not require any special regulatory review. One such replacement took place in April at the corner of Blush Hill Road and Kimberly Lane.

The now-failing pole near the Blush Hill Meadows apartments is larger than the others nearby and given its position, it has more tension on it than other nearby poles, company officials explained to the commission.

Replacing pole #20 will mean swapping it with a smaller wooden pole and installing a three-pole structure nearby to carry the power lines this large structure now holds. VELCO says it will eventually install a steel replacement for #20 and remove the poles it is erecting now. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Last Wednesday, July 17, a VELCO crew with a representative from the pole manufacturer visited the structure to inspect it and quickly determined its condition is so tenuous that it needed to be replaced immediately. In testimony to the Public Utility Commission, VELCO Access Supervisor of Construction Jacob Watrous described how inspectors drilled into the pole and discovered a cavity about 11 inches wide along the pole’s interior.

“There was nothing but mush inside that pole. So inside the pole, there is a cavity in there where there is no strength in that pole,” Watrous explained.

They moved up the pole to take additional samples and continued to find the same problem, he said.

“At that point, they decided to come back down to the ground because they didn't feel it was safe and didn't want to jeopardize the strength of that pole any further,” he said.

The inspection was made with personnel on a lift because the pole was considered unsafe to climb, he noted.

Power on the line was turned off for the inspection and VELCO engineers advised that the line cannot be re-energized with the existing pole in its condition. VELCO the next day filed a request to the Public Utility Commission asking that the state waive the customary review procedures in order for the company to take down the failing pole and replace it as soon as possible.

VELCO engineer William McNamara outlined a plan that would swap the deteriorating pole with a wooden one about 30 feet to the west of the current pole. The new pole would be shorter than the original – standing just 65 feet tall with three guy wires and two anchors.

An additional new three-pole installation would also be needed to bear the load that the larger structure currently holds, he said. About 150 feet to the north of the failing pole, a new structure about 24 feet across would be built with three poles – a center pole standing 60 feet tall with a 50-foot pole on either side. These also would have guy wires for support, he described.

A hearing was convened on Friday with the utility commission, VELCO officials and lawyers, representatives from other state agencies including the Agency of Natural Resources and the Department of Public Service, town officials, and several neighbors who reside in homes adjacent to the power line right-of-way.

McNamara explained that although the line remains not electrified, service in the area has not been affected because there is capacity in the system to shift power to other lines in the region. That shift, however, is not possible long-term because the demand for power particularly in Stowe increases in the wintertime. Therefore the line through the Waterbury neighborhood can only be out of service temporarily, VELCO officials explained.

Neighbors adjacent to the power line and pole in question voiced concern about the proposed project because of how the additional construction would alter the landscape as it requires cutting down trees and clearing vegetation. Scott Barber thanked VELCO officials for communicating with the nearby property owners, describing the prospect of the new power-pole construction a “devastating process.”

VELCO officials said they understand the neighborhood concerns and acknowledged that they are proposing to clear more land to create a path for the utility crew to access the site and to build the new multi-pole structure. Testimony detailed that room will be needed for a crane to access the spot for the installation work. Once the work is completed, VELCO said it would remove the crane pad and seed and mulch the disturbed area.

“VELCO has designed the new structure to minimize impacts to landowners while maintaining our obligation to provide reliable electric service and protect the public from the potential significant dangers that could arise from a pole falling and from an extended outage,” McNamara said. “VELCO understands that there are potential impacts to aesthetics … and is working in good faith to address [neighbors’] concerns and minimize impacts.”

But a replacement for the 100-foot pole of the needed caliber is not readily available, VELCO officials told the state commission. Ideally, a permanent replacement would be made of steel, but that would need to be specially designed and engineered, and it would require a concrete foundation to be built. Ordering and acquiring such a pole would take about 10 months, they said, too long to wait given the danger posed by the existing pole.

Friday’s hearing recessed and when it resumed on Monday, VELCO representatives returned with a new proposal: they offered to make the emergency replacement project a temporary solution. They said they would pursue acquiring a steel pole that could ultimately replace the current laminate pole, making the additional three-pole structure unnecessary long-term.

Neighbors agreed that swapping the laminate pole for a steel version would be ideal. But they pressed the utility and the commission to find an alternative that would not involve the additional structure in the interim.

*Thursday midday, work has begun. VELCO expects the project to be completed in two weeks. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti*

“It just seems crazy to me that we can put a man on the moon, we have AI, we have all these great things, but somehow or another we can't figure out how to keep a pole upright for 10 months while we construct this other more permanent solution,” said Michael Bravin, whose house sits just above powerline and failing pole. “I would ask that the commission or the people of VELCO, please try harder and try and do better,” he continued. “It seems like that would be more cost-effective as opposed to putting this temporary structure in, removing it, and then putting in [another] one.”

When asked about costs, VELCO officials did not have details for the commission regarding the cost of replacing the 10 failed laminate poles. After the hearing, Louiselle told Waterbury Roundabout that laminate structures today cost roughly $85,000 to $100,000 each and traditional wood poles are approximately $130,000 each. The figures for the laminate poles are about 5% more than they were in 2009 when this power line project was built, she noted.

Asked whether manufacturer LWS Inc. is covering any of the replacement costs for the decaying poles, Louiselle said she did not have a cost estimate yet or details on how that will be covered. “We definitely are working closely with the manufacturer” on the issue, she said, adding, “I do not believe we’re the first utility to experience an issue with the laminate poles.”

Before the commission hearing concluded, commission Chair Edward McNamara (no relation to the VELCO official with the same last name) followed up on the neighbors’ inquiry and asked VELCO representatives if they could investigate the possibility of obtaining a single pole – laminate or other – that could be installed temporarily until a single steel pole replacement could be obtained.

On Tuesday, VELCO filed their revised plan laying out the long-term solution to install a single steel pole. The company also told the commission it would double-check whether it could get a viable temporary single replacement pole. By the end of the day, however, VELCO said that was not possible, so its request involving the additional three-pole construction remained.

Acknowledging that the additional poles were likely to be built, Barber near the end of Monday’s hearing thanked VELCO officials for agreeing to eventually remove them. “I really feel like people are working hard to make a three-pole structure right in the middle of this view—visible from town, visible to the hundreds of people at the condos, visible to Crossroad Road, visible to everyone that drives up Blush Hill Road—not a [permanent] structure,” he said.

On Wednesday, the commission granted VELCO’s request saying it agrees “that an emergency situation exists.” It approved the plan to replace the deteriorating pole and build the additional three-pole structure immediately.

The decision also requires VELCO to submit by Feb. 3, 2025 plans to install a steel-pole structure that will be the permanent replacement for the failing pole #20 and to remove the additional three-pole structure now being built. If VELCO cannot meet that timeline, the commission said the company would need to request an extension by Jan. 17. The waiver of the commission’s customary detailed review for such a project is in effect for one year.

This engineer’s sketch shows the design of the power line and poles with the new construction: a new single #20 pole and the addition of the #21 three-pole structure (far right). Click to enlarge. Image courtesy of VELCO

Project schedule

Work on the pole replacement project began Thursday and is expected to take two weeks. No work will be done on Sundays, VELCO officials said. VELCO shared a schedule describing the steps involved and the timeline:

Site work comes first, starting Thursday, July 25. That entails tree cutting, brush mowing, and creating an access road to the new locations for pole #20 and the #21 three-pole structure.
The VELCO line crew is expected to be on site on Monday.
The four poles needed for the project will be delivered on Tuesday.
Overhead line work starts on Tuesday and is expected to take until Saturday, Aug. 3. This will involve setting the poles, removing the wires from the existing #20 pole, and removing the faulty pole.
Restoration of the roads and site cleanup will be done the week of Aug. 5.

“We appreciate the patience of the nearby residents and ask the public to avoid the work area in the right-of-way while we perform this critical reliability work,” Louiselle said.

Below is the Public Utility Commission’s order granting VELCO’s request for a process waiver for the emergency project. (click images to enlarge the pages)