By: AnchÃa H.B. No. 5604
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the access by a certificated provider to the
rights-of-way and poles of an electric cooperative.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Title 5, Utilities Code, is amended by adding
Chapter 254 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 254. ACCESS BY CERTIFICATED PROVIDERS TO ELECTRIC
COOPERATIVE RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND DISTRIBUTION POLES
Sec. 254.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Certificated provider" means a person who:
(A) is a certificated telecommunications
provider, as defined by Section 283.002, Local Government Code; or
(B) is a holder of a state-issued certificate of
franchise authority issued under Chapter 66.
(2) "Make-ready cost" means the costs associated with
the modification or replacement of a utility pole, or of the lines
or equipment on the utility pole, necessary to accommodate
additional facilities.
(3) "Pole" means a pole carrying distribution lines
with a voltage rating no higher than 34.5 kilovolts.
(4) "Pole attachment" means an affixture of cables,
strands, wires, and associated equipment attached to a pole
directly or indirectly or placed in a right-of-way owned or
controlled by an electric cooperative.
Sec. 254.002. NONDISCRIMINATORY ACCESS. (a) An electric
cooperative shall provide a certificated provider with
nondiscriminatory access regarding:
(1) the placement of a facility in the electric
cooperative's right-of-way, including a right-of-way secured from
a customer that is occupied by the cooperative;
(2) a pole attachment rate or term for a pole that the
electric cooperative owns or controls; or
(3) access to a building relating to Subdivision (1)
or (2).
(b) An electric cooperative may not charge a certificated
provider:
(1) a pole attachment rate that:
(A) exceeds the rate agreed to in a contract
between the cooperative and the provider; or
(B) exceeds the rate that the electric
cooperative may charge under Section 254.003; or
(2) any additional costs for evaluating the viability
or load of a pole or any make-ready or other costs that exceed the
costs that the electric cooperative may charge under Section
254.003.
Sec. 254.003. RATE AND FEE SETTING BY PUBLIC UTILITY
COMMISSION OF TEXAS. The Public Utility Commission of Texas shall
implement a schedule of pole attachment rates, costs, and fees,
that an electric cooperative may charge a certificated provider for
attachments to a pole that the electric cooperative owns or
controls. A pole attachment rate, cost, or fee subject to this
section may not exceed a pole attachment rate, cost, or fee the
electric cooperative would be permitted to charge under rules
adopted by the Federal Communications Commission under 47 U.S.C.
Section 224 if the electric cooperative's rates were regulated
under federal law and the rules of the Federal Communications
Commission.
Sec. 254.004. AUTHORITY OF PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. (a)
Notwithstanding Section 41.004, the Public Utility Commission of
Texas:
(1) may open a contested case proceeding under Chapter
2001, Government Code, to determine whether a pole attachment rate,
cost, or fee complies with this chapter; and
(2) shall enforce this chapter and adopt rules
reasonably required for that purpose.
(b) For the purposes of enforcing this chapter, a reference
in Chapter 15 to a person includes an electric cooperative.
Sec. 254.005. CONFLICT WITH OTHER LAW. In the case of a
conflict between this chapter and other law, this chapter prevails.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.