New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas and Electric (RG&E) have inspected more than 250,000 utility poles and replaced about 14,000 so far in 2025, part of ongoing efforts to maintain reliable service for roughly 1.3 million customers across Upstate New York.
“A strong pole infrastructure means customers can go about their daily lives uninterrupted,” said Patricia Nilsen, CEO of NYSEG and RG&E. “Many poles across our service areas are more than 40 years old and in dire need of replacement. By replacing aging or damaged poles, we keep the lights on for families and businesses.”
The companies maintain over one million poles statewide, which are inspected on a five-year cycle. Inspections range from visual checks and stray voltage testing to more detailed evaluations, including digging around poles to assess ground rot and drilling to detect internal voids. In addition to routine inspections, NYSEG and RG&E conducted enhanced inspections of an extra 57,000 poles this year.
Poles are replaced based on factors such as age, risk to customers, protective devices, and historical outage impact. While the companies proactively plan replacements, they also respond quickly to poles damaged in emergencies, like storms or accidents.
NYSEG and RG&E expect to replace more than 20,000 poles by the end of 2025. The scale of future work will be guided by the Powering New York rate proposal, which seeks to modernize infrastructure, improve reliability, and support broadband upgrades. The proposal is currently under review by the New York State Department of Public Service.
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