SECTIONS 8026-8038 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 8026-8038

8026. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any wire or
cable used to conduct electricity, on any pole, or any crossarm,
bracket, or other appliance attached to such pole, within a distance
of 13 inches from the center line of the pole.
This section does not apply to signal wires or cables which are
attached to a pole to which is attached no wire or cable other than
signal wires or cables, except within the corporate limits of a city,
nor shall this section apply to such wires or cables where they are
placed vertically on poles, nor to bridle or jumper wires on any pole
which are attached to signal wires on the same pole, nor to any
aerial cable, as between such cable and any pole on which it
originates or terminates.
Telephone toll lines may be exempt from the provisions of this
section if proper evidence introduced before the commission proves to
the satisfaction of the commission, that compliance would seriously
interfere with long distance telephone transmission.
This section does not apply to wires run from lead wires to arc or
incandescent lamps nor to transformers placed upon poles, nor to any
wire or cable where it is attached to the top of a pole, as between
it and the pole, nor to any aerial cable containing signal wires
where the cable is attached to a pole on which no other wires or
cables than wires continuing from the cable are maintained if
electric light or power wires or cables are not maintained on the
same side of the street or highway on which the aerial cable is
placed.

8027. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain in the
vicinity of any pole (and unattached thereto) within the distance of
13 inches from the center line of the pole, any wire or cable used to
conduct electricity, or place, erect or maintain any pole (to which
is attached any wire or cable used to conduct electricity) within the
distance of 13 inches (measured from the center of such pole) from
any wire or cable used to conduct or carry electricity. As between
any wire or cable and any pole, only the wire, cable, or pole last in
point of time run, placed, or erected, shall be held to be run,
placed, erected, or maintained in violation of the provisions of this
section.
This section does not apply to signal wires, or cables on poles to
which are attached no other wires, as between such wires and poles
to which are attached no other wires or cables than signal wires if
such wires, cables, and poles are not within the corporate limits of
a city.
Telephone toll lines may be exempt from this section if proper
evidence introduced before the commission proves to the satisfaction
of the commission, that compliance would seriously interfere with
long distance telephone transmission.

8028. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain, above ground,
within four feet from any wire or cable conducting less than 600
volts of electricity, any wire or cable which conducts at any one
time more than 600 volts of electricity, or run, place, erect, or
maintain within four feet from any wire or cable which conducts at
any one time more than 600 volts of electricity any wire or cable
conducting or carrying less than 600 volts of electricity.
This section does not apply to wires or cables attached to a
transformer, arc or incandescent lamp within four feet (measured
along the line of the wire or cable) from the point where such wire
or cable is attached to such transformer, arc or incandescent lamp,
nor to wires or cables within buildings or other structures, nor to
wires or cables where they are placed vertically on poles, or to any
lead wires or cables between the points where they are made to leave
any pole for the purpose of entering any building or other structure
and the point at which they are made to enter such building or
structure.
As between any two wires or cables, or any wire or any cable, run,
placed, erected, or maintained in violation of this section, only
the wire or cable last in point of time run, placed, or erected shall
be held to be run, placed, erected, or maintained thus in violation
of this section.
Where no more than one crossarm is maintained on a pole, all the
wires or cables conducting at any one time more than 600 volts of
electricity shall be placed on the crossarm on one side of the pole,
and all the wires or cables conducting less than 600 volts of
electricity shall be placed on the crossarm on the other side of the
pole. The space between any wire or cable conducting at any one time
more than 600 volts of electricity and any wire or cable conducting
less than that voltage shall be at least 36 inches clear measurement
in a horizontal line.
Where the provisions of this section cannot be complied with, the
commission may grant permission for the following form of
construction; where two or more systems for the distribution of
electric light or power occupy the same poles with wires or cables,
all wires or cables conducting at any one time more than 600 volts of
electricity may be placed on the crossarms on one side of the pole,
and all wires or cables conducting less than that voltage, shall in
such case, be placed on the crossarms on the other side of the pole;
the space between any wire or cable conducting at any one time more
than 600 volts of electricity and any wire or cable conducting or
carrying less than that voltage shall be at least 36 inches in
measurement in a horizontal line; and in such construction all
crossarms shall be at least 36 inches apart in a vertical line.

8029. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any wire or
cable which conducts at any one time more than 600 volts of
electricity, without causing each crossarm, or such other appliance
as is used in lieu thereof, to which such wire or cable is attached
to be kept at all times painted a bright yellow color, or, on such
crossarm, or other appliance used in lieu thereof, shall be placed
signs, providing, in white letters on a green background, not less
than three (3) inches in height the words "high voltage" on the face
and back of each crossarm. The provisions of this section do not
apply to crossarms to which are attached wires or cables conducting
more than 10,000 volts of electricity, and which are situated outside
the corporate limits of a city.

8029.5. No person shall place, erect, or maintain on any pole any
transformer, capacitor, or other electrical device containing
polychlorinated biphenyls for transforming electric current, when the
pole or transformer is required to be marked pursuant to applicable
regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
unless the person owning or controlling the pole on which the device
is situated, upon request of any fire protection agency within the
person's electrical service area, either marks the pole with a
reflective band specified by the fire protection agency or furnishes
to the fire protection agency the location of every pole within the
fire protection agency on which such a device is located, at the
person's option.

8030. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any guy wire
or guy cable attached to any pole or appliance to which is attached
any wire or cable used to conduct electricity, without causing the
guy wire or guy cable to be effectively insulated at all times at a
distance of not less than four (4) feet nor more than eight (8) feet
(measured along the line of the wire or cable) from the upper end
thereof, and at a point not less than eight (8) feet vertically above
the ground from the lower end thereof. Where two or more guy wires
or guy cables are attached to the same pole and same anchorage pole
there shall be at least one foot, vertical space, between the points
of attachment. No insulation shall be required at the lower end of a
guy wire or guy cable where it is attached to a grounded anchor.
Where guy wires or guy cables are attached to a pole or structure of
steel or other conducting material supporting wires or cables
conducting in excess of 15,000 volts where the pole or structure is
thoroughly grounded no insulation shall be required at any point in
the guy wire or guy cable.
This section does not apply to guy wires or guy cables attached to
poles carrying no wire or cable other than signal wires or cables
and which are situated outside the corporate limits of a city.

8031. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain vertically on
any pole any wire or cable used to conduct electricity, without
causing such wire or cable to be at all times wholly incased in a
casing equal in durability and insulating efficiency to a wooded
casing not less than one and one-half inches thick.
This section does not apply to vertical signal wires or cables on
poles where no other such wires or cables are maintained, and which
are outside the corporate limits of a city, nor to wires or cables
run vertically on iron poles or structures where both pole or
structure and conduit are securely grounded.

8032. No person shall place, erect, or maintain on any pole, or any
crossarm or other appliance on the pole, which carries or upon which
is placed an electric arc lamp, any transformer for transforming
electric currents. This section shall not apply if the arc lamp is
suspended so that it can be trimmed from the ground or from a stand
located on the pole not less than seven feet below the transformer,
and in so suspending the arc lamp no wire or cable in connection
therewith is run vertically on the pole unless the wire or cable is
protected as provided for in Section 8031.

8033. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any wire or
cable carrying more than 15,000 volts of electricity across any wire
or cable carrying less than that voltage or across any public
highway, except on a pole of such height and so placed at each
crossing that under no circumstances can the wire or cable of a
voltage higher than 15,000 volts in case of breakage thereof or
otherwise, come in contact with any wire or cable of less than that
voltage, or fall within a distance of ten (10) feet from the surface
of any public highway; or in lieu thereof double strength
construction may be installed, in which case the wires carrying a
voltage higher than 15,000 volts shall, between the points of
crossing, be of a cross-section area equal to at least twice that
used in the line outside of such crossing, except where the conductor
used is equal to number four (4) stranded Brown and Sharpe gauge or
greater, in which case the wires or cables will be considered as
complying with the law.

8034. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any suspension
wire to which is attached any aerial cable of 75 pair No. 19 Brown
and Sharpe gauge or over, or of 100 pair No. 22 Brown and Sharpe
gauge or over suspended from a crossarm, or from any other structure
or appliance from which the suspension wire is hung, by a single bolt
and clamp without at the same time attaching the suspension wire to
the crossarms, structure, or appliance by an additional safety bolt
and clamp, or other safety appliance for thus attaching the
suspension wire of tensile strength equal to the first bolt and
clamp.

8035. None of the provisions of Sections 8026 to 8034, inclusive,
apply to direct current electric wires or cables having the same
polarity, nor to signal wires when no more than two (2) of such
signal wires are attached to any one pole, but no such direct current
or signal wires shall in any case be run, placed, erected, or
maintained within the distance of thirteen (13) inches from the
center line of any pole other than the pole or poles on which the
wires or cables are carried, carrying electric wires or cables. As
between any two wires, or cables, or any wire or cable run, placed,
erected, or maintained in violation of this section, only the wire or
cable last in point of time run, placed, erected, or maintained
shall be held to be run, placed, erected, or maintained thus in
violation of this section.

8036. No person shall run, place, erect, or maintain any span wire
attached to any wire or cable used to conduct electricity, without
causing the span wire to be at all times effectively insulated
between the outer point at which it is in any case fastened to the
pole or other structure by which it is hung or supported, and at the
point at which it is in any case thus attached. Such insulation shall
not in any case be placed less than two (2) feet or more than four
(4) feet from the point at which the span wire is so attached. When
in any case such span wire is attached along its length to any two
(2) such wires or cables, conducting electricity and extending
parallel to each other, not more than eighteen (18) feet apart, such
insulation shall not be required therein at any point between such
parallel wires or cables. This section does not apply where feeder
wires are used in place of span wires.

8037. The commission may grant such additional time and shall
inspect all work which is included in the provisions of this article,
and may make such further additions or changes as the commission
deems necessary for the purpose of safety to employees and the
general public. The commission shall enforce the provisions of this
article.

8038. Any violation of any provision of this article is a
misdemeanor.