HB 144 Compliance Insights
Practical guidance for Texas utilities preparing for the January 2027 plan-filing date in the PUCT's implementing rule.
If You Hit a Utility Pole in Texas, Do You Have to Pay?
Usually, if you are at fault. How property damage liability pays first, what the utility bills, the $25,000 Texas minimum, what to do at the scene, and why a dated record of a pole's condition matters.
Read articleTexas Pole Rule §25.61: What City and Co-op Utilities Must Do
16 TAC §25.61 took effect October 8, 2026. Who it covers, the inspection cycles, the four serviceability grades and their clocks, what §25.61(g) records must be kept, the attestation, and what a city or co-op should do before February 5, 2027.
Read articleUtility Says It's Not Their Pole? What to Do in Texas
Make it safe first, then get the utility's answer in writing, with the service rule it rests on. When the utility may be right about a meter pole, what to do when nobody claims a pole, and what HB 144 does and doesn't do.
Read articlePole Ownership Verification: A Practical Guide
Who owns the pole on your property? What is an orphan utility pole? How ownership is traditionally verified, where that process breaks down, and what it takes to make an observation checkable when the parties disagree.
Read articleStop Filing Photos. Start Filing Evidence.
Inspection software captures work in the field. Forensic evidence infrastructure keeps that capture checkable when a counterparty disputes it later. What §38.103 actually requires of a pole program, and where an integrity layer sits under GIS and work management.
Read articleUtility Pole Replacement and Relocation Costs: A Texas Landowner's Guide
What a pole costs to install, replace, or relocate in Texas — and who actually pays after a vehicle strike, a storm, or an easement encroachment. Plus what documentation does about a wear-and-tear denial, and what it doesn't.
Read articleAcreSeal Joins Syracuse University Military Founders Lab to Advance Cryptographic Pole Documentation
AcreSeal has been accepted into the Military Founders Lab 26C at Syracuse University's D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families — and the Texas distribution pole documentation work it runs alongside.
Read articleHow to Report a Utility Pole Problem: The Landowner Documentation Guide
Document it, choose the right channel, file a report you keep a copy of, and follow up. What an AcreSeal report records, what HB 144 does for landowner reports, and when to take it to the PUCT.
Read articleHow To Get A Utility Pole Moved Off Your Property: Texas Landowner Guide
A utility pole in the wrong place on your Texas property can be moved — but the process depends on who benefits, who pays, and how the request is documented. Here's what actually works.
Read articleTrees Near Power Lines on Your Property? Here's Who Trims What and Why (2026 Landowner Guide)
Utility companies have legal authority to trim trees near power lines on your property — but the rules vary by line type, state, and easement terms. Here's what utilities can and can't do, what you're responsible for, and how to document concerns when work goes wrong.
Read articleUtility Pole on Your Property? Here's Who's Responsible (2026 Guide)
A utility pole on your property is owned by the utility, not by you — but easement rules, inspection requirements, and complaint rights vary by state. Here's how to identify who's responsible, what your rights are, and how to report a problem that actually gets tracked.
Read articleWhat to Do About a Leaning or Damaged Utility Pole on Your Property in Texas
If there's a leaning, cracked, or damaged utility pole on or near your property, you're not alone in wondering what to do about it. Here's what to do first if it's dangerous, who's responsible (including when the pole is yours), and how to report the problem in a way that actually gets tracked.
Read articleYour Inspections Are Done. Can You Prove It? The Documentation Gap Facing Texas Utilities Before January 2027
Texas HB 144 requires utilities to prove their pole inspections happened. The work gets done. The documentation trail is what's missing.
Read articleHow the DCRF Connects to HB 144: Why Your Pole Investment Documentation Matters More Than Ever
Texas IOUs filing DCRFs will face HB 144 scrutiny on pole replacement documentation. The same standard applies to cooperatives and municipals.
Read articleHB 144 and the 2027 Filing Date
With less than a year until the plan date the PUCT's adopted rule (16 TAC §25.63) sets, Texas cooperatives and municipal utilities need a compliance plan now. This article breaks down the timeline and what to prioritize.
Read articleHB 144 Compliance Checklist: What Texas Utilities Need Before January 2027
A 9-point compliance checklist mapped directly to Sec. 38.103 subsections. See what most utilities have today vs. what the PUCT expects.
Read articleThere Is No Monthly Report Under HB 144: What Sec. 38.103(c) Actually Requires
The one recurring filing HB 144 creates: due May 1 each year. Here's what Sec. 38.103(c) requires — and why the monthly report you may have heard about was never enacted.
Read articleSee a problem with a utility pole on your property?
File a free, documented report in about 60 seconds — no account needed. AcreSeal locks the photo digest, GPS fix and creation time, so a later edit is detectable. You can reference the complaint ID in any regulatory filing.
Not sure where your cooperative stands on HB 144?