Indiana’s rural electric membership cooperatives are dedicated to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable electricity while actively supporting rural broadband expansion. They do this by enabling broadband providers to use their infrastructure or directly offering broadband services to their members. As broadband deployment increases, co-ops must carefully balance this growth with their core responsibility — maintaining the safety and reliability of the electric grid.

Approval required

Utility poles are engineered to support specific loads safely, and any broadband attachments require thorough analysis and formal approval. This ensures electric service remains undisturbed and the environment remains safe for all involved. By law in Indiana, no attachments can be made to cooperative-owned poles without written permission from the cooperative.

Given their limited staffing and resources, co-ops face significant burdens in processing attachment requests, conducting inspections, and maintaining compliance. Effective communication between broadband providers and cooperatives is critical. Clear, upfront coordination allows for timely approvals and any necessary pole upgrades. Additionally, co-ops must be fairly
compensated for their work. As nonprofit, member-owned entities, cooperatives are accountable to their members and must recover the full costs of supporting broadband attachments — including engineering, inspections, and maintenance — to ensure financial fairness and protect infrastructure investments.

Ensuring safe and reliable service

Despite a strong willingness to collaborate, co-ops sometimes face unsafe and unauthorized attachments by broadband providers. These practices compromise pole integrity and threaten worker and public safety. Such actions disregard the procedures and co-op oversight that ensure safe and reliable service.

Cooperatives enthusiastically support broadband growth, recognizing its immense value to rural communities. However, this expansion must align with the unique operational responsibilities of electric co-ops. Success depends on consistent communication, proper compensation, and strict adherence to safety standards. These principles protect the electric grid’s long-term reliability and ensure equitable service for all cooperative members as broadband access continues to expand.

Learn more about how Indiana electric co-ops are supporting the future of local communities at action.indianaec.org.