By Steve Chalker, Director of Public Relations – Jefferson Energy Cooperative

In 1937, the homes along the dusty, rural roads of middle Georgia had been without electricity since their construction, but change was coming. Jefferson Energy put poles along those roads and the lights came on in homes and farms for the first time along those first miles of line.  A new era of growth was ushered in on that morning and for over 80 years, Jefferson Energy has been a cornerstone of the community.  Since then we have had a singular focus; to improve the quality of life for our members by providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity and supporting countless charitable, community and business initiatives.

We are eager to find solutions to Georgia’s rural broadband dilemma and have been working to support and promote the expansion of high-speed internet service for those in need. Through a joint venture with Pineland Telephone Cooperative and Georgia Transmission Corporation, Jefferson Energy constructed a new fiber-optic system which enabled Pineland   the ability to provide high-speed internet to businesses in Louisville and Wrens.

This project could not have happened without the support of Jefferson Energy and Georgia Transmission Corporation. Since that successful rollout in 2019 we have continued to perform additional feasibility studies, seeking funding sources and partners to expand broadband across our entire service area.

We are proud of our success, yet still today, so many of our valued members still lack quality broadband service. It is clear from our development and analysis of multiple feasibility studies for the deployment of high-speed internet across our 11-county territory that pole attachment fees charged by Georgia’s EMCs are not a barrier to deployment for broadband providers.

The real impediment is the high cost of construction and a limited number of paying customers that combine to render a provider’s investment, in the provider’s view, unprofitable. Across the state, including urban and suburban areas that are densely populated and very profitable for broadband, cable and telephone companies are trying to force EMCs to collect less than a fair price for the use of poles.

The task of deciding what’s fair is now in the hands of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), and EMCs are glad that commissioners and staff are now evaluating the information and determining the rates for pole attachment agreements. Georgia’s electric cooperatives, on behalf of more than four million Georgians, are asking the PSC to reject the national cable and telephone companies’ arguments for unreasonably low pole attachment fees (the FCC rate) and support a fair sharing of the true cost we incur to purchase, install and maintain our poles. If these providers are granted the low rates they seek, it would prove to be quite costly for Jefferson Energy and its members. As a not-for-profit that only exists to provide a service, the only way for us to replace those lost dollars is to ask our members to dig deeper into their pockets.

But the EMCs in our state have unified around a solution; “The Georgia Solution.”

We are offering generous incentives, including the “One Buck Deal.”  EMCs will charge just one dollar per pole, per year, for five years to broadband providers for pole attachments that will bring high-speed internet into areas of our territory that have never been served. We merely ask that the big cable companies pay fair rates for the poles to which their facilities are already attached and from which they earn significant profits.

We have also responded to a stated desire of cable companies for streamlined access to poles with the “Georgia One Touch Make Ready Program.” With this program we will allow broadband providers immediate access to poles in unserved areas, with no advance approval needed, to prepare and attach their lines. This cuts red tape and allows cable companies to attach their lines and start providing broadband in much less time than is typically required.

We hope cable will partner with us to solve this issue and the PSC will set pole attachment rates that are fair to all our valued members and more than 4 million EMC members throughout the state. The citizens of Georgia benefit today from a long legacy of prudent decisions by the PSC, and at Jefferson Energy we are confident they will focus on protecting the safety, reliability and affordability of electric service while also encouraging the development of broadband.