CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Cleveland Utility officials said Charter Communications is slow to cooperate with the needs of the electric division.
In a recent meeting, Bart Borden, vice president of the electric division, reported problems regarding a long-standing program to attach meters to cable power supply lines and a lack of response concerning the transfer of Charter lines from old wooden utility poles to new steel poles.
After receiving no response after requesting that Charter Communications identify a preferred communications contractor to handle 26 recent pole transfers, Cleveland Utilities finally exercised its right to take on the task in-house, said Borden.
Line crews worked 18 of the required transfers along Peerless Road, which had received new steel utility poles in 2012, he said. Eight more transfer were conducted in other parts of the city.
"We did not work any of the pending transfers that were of a complicated nature," Borden said. "Charter Communications or a communications contractor will be required to work these special circumstances."
Along the Peerless Road corridor, old - and now stumped - wooden utility poles stand side by side with the new steel utility poles that were installed three years ago.
Once the transfers are complete, the old wooden poles can be removed, said Ken Webb, president and CEO of Cleveland Utilities.
"We have customers calling, wanting them [the wooden poles] removed," Borden said.
Board member Chari Buckner asked why Charter will not respond to the transfer requests.
"They really won't give us an answer to that," said Borden, stating that the cable company was "very aware of the need" and has 243 pending pole transfers.
Borden also reported that Cleveland Utilities has notified Charter Communications of the need to meter each individual cable power supply over the last eight years, but that very limited progress has been made.
Cleveland Utilities notified Charter Communications that it had until Jan. 1, 2017, to comply with the metering request, he said. After that date, any non-metered cable power supply would be "deemed an illegal connection to the power system and disconnected."
Little has been done concerning the metering requirement and 75 cable power supplies remain unmetered out of a total of 216, said Borden.
If disconnections occur, Charter customers could see a degradation or loss of services, he said.
Charter did not directly answer why it allegedly did not respond to the pole transfer requests cited by Borden.
"Charter Communications has a long-established working relationship with Cleveland Utilities," said Patti Michel, a regional communications director for the cable company, in an email. "Our local teams have been working with them hand in hand, coordinating the pole transfers and power metering projects."
Charter recently conducted a pole audit with Cleveland Utilities and expects the pending 243 pole transfers to be completed by next spring, said Michel. Charter teams have completed 208 pole transfers this year, she said.
The company also plans to meter the remaining 75 cable power supplies in advance of the Jan. 1, 2017, deadline, said Michel.
"That's good," said Webb. "We just want to get this resolved."
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.