SAN ANTONIO — Rosa Garza has been worried about a leaning utility pole just outside her yard since 2022. She contacted CPS Energy about the issue in October of 2022, and they came out to address it in the same month, but there was a catch.
CPS Energy added a new pole and moved their lines over, but there were still lines on the pole belonging to AT&T and Spectrum. CPS couldn't remove it the pole until those companies moved their own lines.
Garza then started calling those companies but had no success.
"I called them several times. I was on the phone forever. I got ticket numbers. Work order numbers. They would transfer me over and over. They had not done anything yet," Garza told KENS 5 in January.
Garza said the companies did come out to her home but the technicians would then claim the lines belonged to the other company. In October of 2023, Garza said an AT&T contractor did eventually admit their company had lines on the pole but they still did not take action to move them.
Garza said the pole was leaning a little more with every winter storm.
"I'm just afraid that it might fall and damage our property. And, of course, it would affect the whole neighborhood with the lines being down," Garza said.
KENS 5 interviewed Garza and contacted both AT&T and Spectrum about the lines soon afterwards. KENS 5 was able to contact a local AT&T manager but he told us to call the corporate office and then hung up.
Still, the companies received the message. An AT&T crew came out to Garza's home the next day, moved their lines off the pole, and then cut most of the pole down so it could not longer pose any danger to Garza's property. KENS 5 later learned that both AT&T and Spectrum had lines on the pole as both apologized for the situation.
"Our technicians worked quickly and successfully removed our lines from the pole. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused," an AT&T Spokesperson said.
"Our line was removed from the pole yesterday, and we are continuing to look into the situation to determine a reason for the delay. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused," said a Spectrum spokesperson in a statement.
Garza couldn't believe the issue was fixed so quickly after she had been calling since 2022, but she was glad she gave KENS 5 a call.
"I'm very happy that I got KENS 5 involved in this issue and got it resolve," Garza said. "KENS was great."
