Bill requires companies to remove dead wires from poles – Politics

2023-10-05 23:19:00

In a recent report, Campo Grande News showed that there is already a law in Campo Grande to solve the problem

Loose wires on Rua Raul Pires Barbosa show a problem with the wiring (Photo: Henrique Kawaminami)

Proposed by state deputy Roberto Hashioka (Union), the Bill obliges companies providing television, internet or subscription telephone services to remove and discard inactive cables after canceling the service. According to the project, consumers who do not want the wires removed must notify the service provider, without being able to pay for it.

Companies that fail to comply with the determinations may be penalized in accordance with the Consumer Protection Code, and may pay a fine, reverted to the FEDDC (State Fund for the Defense of Consumer Rights.)

“After the cancellation of television, internet or subscription telephone services, service providers, as a rule, only collect the decoder or modem equipment, leaving behind the entire network used in the installation. Inactivated cabling takes up space in the structure of the house or apartment. In this way, the liability for this cancellation is left to the consumer, who, in most cases, carries out the removal and disposal of the cables at their own expense”, explained the deputy.

In a recent report the Campo Grande News showed that there is already a law in Campo Grande to solve the problem of internet, telephone and cable TV wires hanging from poles, but nothing has changed since 2019. 4 years ago, councilors “fought” with the city hall to create rules and fines, R$500 for each case. At the time, the city hall vetoed the proposal, but parliamentarians overturned the veto. As a result, the law was enacted by the City Council and, in theory, is valid.

However, the situation persists. In 2023, Energisa had already reported 710 notifications of irregularities from other companies to the city hall, but officially the city hall never imposed a fine and attributed the responsibility for “solving” the problem to the concessionaire. The law provides that “the electricity distribution company is obliged to send a quarterly report to the Municipal Executive Branch containing all notifications made to the occupying companies, and complaints to the regulatory and supervisory body of the occupants, as well as proof of protocol of documents ”.

In simpler words, the Energisa concessionaire, which is not responsible for loose internet wires, has to notify the internet, telephone and TV companies.

Although the law was published in the April 3, 2019 edition of its own Official Gazette, the city hall states that responsibility for loose wires lies solely with Energisa. In response, the communications department cites the syllabus of the law (beginning) to try to justify its response, but ignores the rest of the text.

In June this year, another project, proposed by congressman Pedro Kemp (PT), established the presence of disused wires in support poles of the electricity network in Mato Grosso do Sul as a risk to the environment. The proposal came after the Residents’ demand regarding energy concessionaires and other telephone and internet companies not to remove the wiring that breaks and comes loose from the poles.

“In almost all cities in Mato Grosso do Sul, there are reports of accidents involving cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians, who are surprised by broken wires that are not removed by the companies. The problem needs to be treated with environmental risk status as it is a form of environmental pollution”, explained Kemp at the time.

In the project, the deputy talks about the obligation for companies to place identification with their name and telephone number on all support pole wiring. “This situation is reported daily, however, those responsible do little to resolve the situation, which is why this project proposes the identification of the “owners of the wires”, because the information can help the population to report to the authorities cases that require withdrawal,” highlighted Kemp. The project proposed by the deputy was shelved at the end of August.

In Campo Grande, the wires hanging from Campo Grande poles can cause a “headache” for companies. Complementary Law No. 348, of 2019, provides for a penalty of R$500 for anyone who does not resolve the problem. The text proposed by deputy Roberto Hashioka goes to the CCJR (Constitution, Justice and Writing Commission).

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