20250828EX 7 Declaration_of_Jesse Butler.pdf

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BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
WIRED OR WIRELESS, INC. )
Complainant, )
V. ) Case No.AVU-E-25-11
AVISTA CORPORATION, )
d/b/a Avista Utilities, )
Respondent. )
DECLARATION OF JESSE BUTLER
IN SUPPORT OF AVISTA CORPORATION's ANSWER
1. My name is Jesse Butler. I am over the age of 18, have personal knowledge of the
matters set forth herein, and am competent to testify.
2. I am the Joint Use Manager for Avista Corporation ("Avista"). In this role, I
oversee the administration of Avista's pole attachment program, including application processing,
licensee coordination,and rate implementation.I am responsible for communicating with licensees
regarding invoices, Avista's operational requirements, changes to fee structures, and compliance
expectations.
3. I have been directly involved in the administration of the Joint Use Master License
Agreement ("JUMLA") between Avista and Wired or Wireless, Inc. ("WOW") since becoming
Joint Use Manager in January 2022. The JUMLA governs WOW's communications equipment
on Avista's utility poles.
4. In my capacity as Joint Use Manager, I have conducted operational
communications with WOW,including those concerning attachment applications,field audits,rate
schedules, and procedural compliance. I am also responsible for overseeing the calculation of the
applicable rates for WOW's attachments, which form the basis of the invoices Avista issues to

Docusign Envelope ID:062D1 EFD-1476-4632-B190-38E7D8BBD9D0
WOW.
5. For telecommunications carrier attachments in Idaho, Avista utilizes the Federal
Communications Commission's "old" telecommunications rate formula. This formula allocates
the costs of 2/3 of the unusable space on a pole equally among the average number of attaching
entities. Under this approach, every attacher, regardless of the space it actually occupied, is
assigned responsibility for an equal share of 2/3 of the pole's unusable space. The rate yielded by
the formula varies depending upon the average number of attaching entities. Avista's application
of the formula assumes the existence of two attaching entities—an assumption that I understand
WOW agrees with. This formula is set forth at page 2 of WOW's Exhibit C to its Complaint.
Avista believes that this formula more equitably allocates costs than the current (i.e. "new") FCC
telecom rate formula. Avista applies the FCC's "old" telecom rate uniformly to all non-ILEC
telecom carriers. No other attacher besides WOW has taken issue with this rate formula.
6. On December 9, 2022, Avista and VentureSum Corporation ("VentureSum") sent
a joint letter to all Avista licensees, including WOW,providing notice of Avista's comprehensive
audit of attachments planned for 2023. The letter stated VentureSum would conduct the audit on
Avista's behalf and explained that the results could lead to billing adjustments, including recovery
of unpaid back rent. See Attachment A hereto, which is a true and correct copy of Avista's
December 9, 2022 letter regarding the 2023 audit. This letter invited WOW to participate in the
audit. WOW declined.
7. On December 13, 2023, Avista sent WOW a letter explaining that the 2023 audit
had identified unreported and unauthorized attachments and would result in back billing under the
JUMLA. Avista explained that the audit findings triggered a true-up invoice for past rent and
adjustments to current billing based on the revised attachment count and applicable rates.Attached

Docusign Envelope ID:062D1 EFD-1476-4632-B190-38E7D8BBD9D0
hereto as Attachment B is a true and correct copy of Avista's December 13, 2023 letter to WOW.
8. Prior to 2023, WOW failed to pay for the total number of its attachments on
Avista's poles, as revealed by the audit Avista conducted in 2023. Attached hereto is a true and
correct copy of an email I sent to WOW on December 15,2023,regarding the findings of Avista's
2023 audit, including the attached audit report, labeled as Attachment C.
9. On February 13, 2024, Avista sent WOW a default notice, on which I was copied,
regarding WOW's failure to pay its invoices for 2023. Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of
Avista's February 13, 2024 30 Day Notice to Cure Defaults letter to WOW.
10. The last overlash application Avista received from WOW was in 2019—which
Avista approved. Therefore, I am not sure how WOW has come to believe that "Avista denied
WOW the right to overlash existing facilities"as alleged in WOW's complaint. [Complaint,¶ 17]
WOW has not submitted any overlash applications for Avista to even consider.
11. Under Section 2.2 of Exhibit G the JUMLA,"[w]henever Licensee wishes to attach
Communication Facilities in or on Licensor's Structures on a new Route or Site or to alter the
location or Overlash any Attachments,Licensee shall first make written application to Licensor[.]"
[Ex. B of Complaint/ § 2.2 of Exhibit G to the JUMLA] Further, Section 2.1 states that"[n]othing
in this Agreement shall be construed to obligate the Licensor to grant the Licensee permission to
use any particular Structure. Permission for Licensee's use of a Structure will be given only if
Licensor in its sole judgment determines that its Structure has sufficient and suitable capacity
available and can meet all applicable safety, reliability, and engineering considerations for the
[pole] and the facilities in or on the Structure." [Ex. B of Complaint/ § 2.1 of JUMLA]
12. Avista discovered that from 2019-2023,WOW replaced coaxial cable with fiber on
Idaho's Hope Peninsula without obtaining prior approval from Avista. The JUMLA provisions I

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cite above require an attacher to first make a written application to perform work on Avista poles
and entitles Avista to exercise the exclusive judgment of whether to allow it. Because WOW had
failed to follow the JUMLA's mandated procedure by performing work outside of Avista's
permitting and engineering review process and without coordination, it prevented Avista from
being able to assess whether the relevant poles were compatible for the work and thus safe.
Therefore, Avista required WOW to stop all work on the poles. [Ex. 8 / E-Mail Correspondence
Re Stop Work Notification for Wired or Wireless,Inc./Air-Pipe] The importance of this procedure
was underscored by the fact that when Avista investigated WOW's unauthorized work, it led to
the discovery of multiple WOW attachments that were in violation of the National Electrical Safety
Code clearance requirements. [Ex. 6/October 2023 E-Mail Correspondence]
13. Lastly, I can attest that Avista's Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of the April
2023 E-mail correspondence between Scott Meredith of Avista's Joint Use Department and
William Geibel Jr., President of WOW. I can further attest that Avista's Exhibit 10 is a true and
correct copy of Avista's May 15, 2024 Settlement Offer Letter, and Avista's Exhibit I is a true
and correct copy of Avista's June 21, 2024 Letter to WOW.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the facts set forth in
this declaration are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
SIGNED this 28 day of August 2025.
Signed by:
( SSc, bAV
SEIHU'P'EER