Sadly, humans have a nasty habit of colliding with utility poles, bringing down the wires that are strung along the top. In 2019, the American Public Power Association, a group representing community-owned electric utilities, collected outage data from 324 U.S. public power utilities. The ways include: removing utility poles, relocating the poles or reducing their number, utilizing breakaway designs, and shielding the poles with barriers or guardrails. As a 2004 white paper published by the National Academies Press explained: “This may be done with warning signs, reflective paint, sheeting, object markers placed on utility poles, or roadway lighting. ADAccording to the North American Wood Pole Council, there are approximately 130 million wooden utility poles in use in North America, primarily made of pine, fir and cedar.

Source: Washington Post September 05, 2020 20:26 UTC