As part of an agreement approved in November by the NH Public Utilities Commission, Eversource has taken ownership of all of Consolidated Communications’ electric utility pole interests in New Hampshire.

With the agreement, the utility said it is now responsible for the maintenance of an additional 175,393 utility pole “equivalents” across all 10 counties in the state. It said the change will improve service and reliability for customers by enabling Eversource to more efficiently complete repairs, new pole sets and upgrades in more areas of its service territory.

In New Hampshire, towns are divided into maintenance areas between electric and telephone companies that dictate which is responsible for installing, maintaining and removing poles. The new agreement eliminates the complexities in administering utility poles under joint ownership, Eversource said.

The PUC approved the agreement following a regulatory review process that began in February 2021.