Getting a power pole moved

Question

Anyone ever had this done? What does this kind of thing typically cost if I have to pay for it? The utility cooperative here won't tell me anything without first paying hundreds of dollars for a "tech to review it". That was their immediate answer with zero research - they weren't even interested in what address / where I was talking about and would not give me a ball park within even "$10k dollars".

We just purchased this small farm property we live on in Montana. We are actively haying the property as was the previous owner. We are surrounded by a few small housing developments and other rural small farms. While it's easy to get a car around this pole, the farming operation requires that we bring a semi in at least 3 times a season + other large equipment on occasion. It has to go through major detours of multiple miles and through a small rural housing development, finally doing a complicated turn-around in a Cul-de-sac nearby all due to this pole being in the way on the main entrance. Ie. People have to deal with us driving our equipment through their neighborhoods. The previous owners have always done this, and while the community is understanding, it's not ideal and gets more complex as the area develops / fills up with more homes. There is also a very popular camping / river entrance that we have to drive through to do this and sometimes it's a nightmare. The sole reason for this is the pole. It's literally about 15 minutes extra + the nuisance to everyone.

Any pointers? Any typical state departments which regulate how the utilities right-of-ways are used / abused? Again, this is my residence as well and I am planning a lot of DIY improvements including improving / paving the long driveway. Would rather get this pole moved before I do that.

Answer 1

This is a job for an easement, plain and simple.

There's another driveway right next to you that is well-situated. You need to be as quiet as a mouse about your level of desperation, and just approach that property owner and say "hey having 2 driveways is stupid, couldn't we combine?" And pay enough money to get a "yes".

Make sure it is an EASEMENT and get a lawyer involved. Easement law is a mess, that's not a thing to DIY.

Moving this pole seems super hard

I suspect moving this pole will be a nightmare, because I see a high voltage (well, 10kv-ish) up top meaning 2 poles must replace this one on the / route, then I see what looks like local lower-voltage service on the \ route, so maybe 1 but probably 2 poles to replace that. Then I also think I see phone on both routes, and I definitely see what look like phone junction boxes there at the bottom of the pole - 2 of them. Which means something needs to come in the vicinity of "here", and that may require undergrounding from where else that pole ends up.

Answer 2

I have had 2 poles moved (1 moved simple on my property, the other 1 added to move another. The first one only cost about 5k because we owned the 2 homes that this pole Fed (only 2 existing homes) and we were adding 2 more houses and needed wider access. I think we had to give up an additional 5’ right away on the property but it was not a big deal they did it the week I sent the check.

The second one was in the middle of a T much like yours but on the other side we wanted to make an x because the county would not allow for the entrance to be offset the pole was ~ 9’ on our side of the property line. 1 pole on our side one further on his side both in the existing right of way. the proposal the neighbor did not want the additional homes and tried to block it long story short the utility put in a new pole 50 or 75’ on either side of the existing pole so our road would be a 4 way that was close to 30k but it also included a new transformer to feed the houses , that was over 20 years ago the 2 pole was more expensive because it was a “heavy line” , some of the costs were county (new stop signs and paint) some were legal but the majority was moving the 1 pole and adding I think the heavier transformer was only 5k for all the houses but that took several months , once we got the OK (total over a year) it took the utility over a week on site prepping putting in the new poles and framework for the transformers. If it requires county intervention expect the costs to go up and be ready to pay close to 1k per stop sign, the main road was paved but originally the 2 turn off’s were not but because of the total number of houses down both roads they required a 4 way stop. I think 3 houses require a Stop sign & street sign. That’s what I remember.

Answer 3

Depending on a few different factors you'd be looking at $10-40k. The fact that it seems to have live lines in 4 directions and that would have to move 20+ feet to relocate over either driveway (so good chance 2 poles would replace one) makes the higher end of the range seem more likely.

Widening your driveway is likely the more practical option than paying to move the pole but for few hundred dollars you might catch a loophole that allows for avoiding it (eg. pole is not on easement, pole is not to code, etc). Personally I'd pay a few hundred to have a technician take a look at it and see if they will work with you to find a reason that the pole shouldn't have been put there in the first place.