Pa. House Bill Would Make Telephone Companies Pay Emergency Crews for Delayed Response to Downed Lines
TIOGA COUNTY, Pa. (WENY) - In June, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) hosted hearings across the Northern Tier to gather input from Frontier Communications customers.
Frontier customers were not the only ones who testified at the hearings. First responders, like volunteer firefighters, say they have also been burned by Frontier. The long list of complaints and concerns are now driving state legislation in Harrisburg.
“We're putting out our own money basically to go out and do somebody else's job,” said Galen Martin, 2nd Assistant Chief at the Morris Twp. Volunteer Fire Department in Tioga County.
On June 11, 2022, Martin and his department responded to a motor vehicle accident with downed lines. Shortly after arriving on scene, Martin notified Frontier Communications the lines needed to be cleared to open the road. He and his crew had to detour traffic while waiting for Frontier.
“I think we had put roughly 49-man hours into that scene,” said Martin.
It took nearly twelve hours before Frontier arrived on scene.
“We all have jobs and commitments that we're taking time away from, or sleep. Anything that we can do, or that can be done to bring money in to help us, makes a big difference,” said Martin.
State Representative Clint Owlett (R-Tioga/Bradford) introduced House Bill 1620 based off Martin’s testimony at one of the June PUC hearings.
“These are volunteers that are doing this out of the goodness of their heart. They don't need to be directing traffic around Frontier phone lines for 12 hours. That's ridiculous,” said Owlett.
Owlett’s bill would require telecommunication companies to respond within 90 minutes of being notified of downed lines resulting from a motor vehicle accident. If the company does not have someone actively on the scene within 90 minutes, they would be required to reimburse a volunteer fire company securing the scene $1,000 per hour they have to wait for the telephone company to show up.
“We speak through legislation. These are things that we heard from the community, we took them back, we really took a look at the issue and drafted bills to speak to the issue,” said Owlett. “Let's give these folks the reimbursement that they need for the time that they're giving the company,” Owlett added.
The reimbursements would come at a time when many volunteer departments have limited manpower, and limited funds.
“These trucks aren't free. They take a lot of fuel. Our insurance, everything, we have to raise the money to pay for that,” said Martin.
In June, a spokesperson for Frontier Communications told WENY News the company has increased staffing for full-time Frontier techs this year in the Northern Tier, adding that it has resulted in the ability to “eliminate substantially all of our customer installation and repair backlog.”
Owlett's bill is one of six that were recently introduced in Harrisburg. The others address additional issues from the PUC hearings, like failing to show up for a scheduled appointment.