veteran wrote:

I noticed our power pole lacked a cable that countered the pull of the
lines. Someone had cut it. It had an insulator in the middle of the
cable , what is the insulator for?
and who responsibility is this pole, the meter reader seems to think
that since the pole is on our property and serves only us, that PG&E
will not replace the somewhat rotted pole.
any ideas , out there?
Patriotism is supporting your country all
the time and the government when it deserves it.
-Mark Twain


Yup! Like Greg said, the utility is responsible for everything up to
the weatherhead. They will core the pole and replace it if necessary.
That "cable" is called a guy wire. The insulator is so that, if the
upper portion becomes hot for some reason ( short, lightning, etc.) and
you touch the lower portion, you won't get shocked. Most poles set have
a ground wire from the top to the base of the pole. But if you look at
most old poles, a lot of the wire is missing from folks that figure the
copper is more valuable to them. ( Don't try this at home, every foot
of the wire is stamped with the utility's initials. At least since the
80's. Not that the scrapper looks! But revenue recovery does!) So you
can't count on the pole's ground to protect you and the insulator is
insurance.