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Standing at the corner of 28th and Oakford streets in the Grays Ferry section of Philadelphia, PECO lineman Keith Coombs points to an electric pole that looks rotten and unstable.

“So anyone walking in this … public street in Philadelphia would run the risk of that falling down and killing them,” Coombs said. “That’s 13,000 volts, 7,000 volts when they come in contact, and that creates a giant ball fire, like really bad stuff. I have a 10- and a 12-year-old that I would not let walk under there. They’re the most important thing to me and the most precious thing to me in this world, and I cannot let that happen.”

Coombs, who is also treasurer and business manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 614, said if the pole fell, it would also shut down a circuit that serves about 3,000 people. Down the street he pointed out another pole that leans at a 45-degree angle.

“So this is a very dangerous pole and puts not only the members working on it at risk, but the public at risk,” he said.

Coombs said he’s worked for PECO for 24 years, following the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He is one of about 1,400 workers represented by Local 614, which filed a petition Thursday with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission seeking an investigation into PECO’s repair and maintenance practices.

“We see it every day,” said Larry Anastasi, Local 614 president and business manager, who spoke at a press conference held in Grays Ferry on Thursday. “Crossbars, braces like the one behind me are splintered and rotting, frayed and damaged overhead wire, transformers that are not sufficiently secure, unstable utility poles, and more. These are obvious safety hazards.”

Anastasi said the company’s recent high profits should translate to better repairs, but he said that PECO instead allows outdated and dangerous infrastructure to go unrepaired in the region’s poor neighborhoods.

“This isn’t like this on the Main Line,” Anastasi said. “In the Main Line, every pole was brand new with aerial cable. In the poorest neighborhoods in the city, it seems to be that the infrastructure from PECO is the worst.”

“This is unacceptable for any company and any city. But it is especially sickening that these hazards are overseen by a company that posted a nearly 50% increase in profits,” he added.

The petition includes about 100 photographs depicting faulty poles and lines in need of repair, including splintered, rotting, degraded or missing cross arms, as well as transformers that appear unsecured and leaning poles. The union is seeking state regulators to investigate because it does not have access to all the data necessary to assess the entire system. But it did do surveys in some Philadelphia neighborhoods and suburban communities.

“This disconnect between those profits and the apparent state of PECO’s infrastructure warrants further investigation,” said Joseph Richardson, an attorney for IBEW Local 614.

“It is the Local’s hope that the filing of its petition will present the Public Utility Commission with an opportunity for a full, impartial and public airing of those concerns.”

Of the 100 poles assessed by the union in Marcus Hook, Delaware County, the petition says 28% are “potentially hazardous,” while 50 out of 300 surveyed in North and West Philadelphia are hazardous.

PECO ‘strongly disagrees’ and points to 2025 as its best year for reliability

PECO Chief Operating Officer Nicole LeVine said the company “strongly disagrees” that it neglects infrastructure repairs in poorer neighborhoods. LeVine said PECO has increased its repairs by 16% in the last five years and that 2025 was one of the best years for reliability.

“We have a very robust inspection and maintenance program,” LeVine said. “We’ve increased the amount of infrastructure improvement that we’ve done over the last several years.”

LeVine said PECO replaced 67,000 electrical poles and 97,000 cross arms in the last five years.

“And when you compare that to [the number] of just over 400,000 poles, we’ve replaced almost 16% of the infrastructure that’s out there,” LeVine said.

LeVine said the company also disagrees with the assertion that it favors infrastructure repairs in wealthier neighborhoods while neglecting environmental justice areas.

“We’ve taken a hard look to make sure that there’s no difference in reliability for those areas over the years,” she said.

In a statement, PECO also pointed to a recent report from the Public Utility Commission that it said the company was “among only two electric utilities in PA to meet industry reliability benchmarks.”

“So, the claims by Local 614 are utterly false and baseless,” the statement reads. “That may not remain the case, however, as we need to continue investing to maintain the level of reliability that our customers are experiencing today, and is a core part of our economic development in PA. We had to withdraw our rate cases due to concerns regarding affordability, which we also understand.”

PECO filed two requests earlier this year to raise rates with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. But facing backlash over affordability issues, the company withdrew the case several weeks later. The proposal would have increased a typical electricity customer’s bill by $20.08 a month and a typical gas user’s by $14.52 a month.

PECO and its union are in the midst of difficult contract negotiations where both sides have filed unfair labor practice complaints.

“I believe this exercise is … an intentional distraction to what we’re doing with the negotiations, which is disappointing,” LeVine said.

Anastasi said the main sticking points continue to be wages and benefits.

Disclosure: PECO is among WHYY’s financial supporters. WHYY News produces independent, fact-based news content for audiences in Greater Philadelphia, Delaware and South Jersey.