Press Release

PUC Announces Appointment and Reappointments to Damage Prevention Committee

Published on 12/19/2024

Filed under: Electric Gas Pipeline Telecommunications Water and Wastewater

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today announced one new appointment and three reappointments to its Damage Prevention Committee (DPC), which enforces the state’s Underground Utility Line Protection Law – also known as the “PA One Call Law.”

The Commission voted 5-0 to appoint Patrick Wiltshire, of Kearneysville, West Virginia, to represent the telephone industry on the DPC. Mr. Wiltshire has extensive experience in fiber optic telecommunications along with a 30-year career in electric utilities, bringing expertise in damage prevention training, utility operations, and infrastructure development. His three-year term will begin on January 1, 2025.

Additionally, the Commission reappointed the following individuals for three-year terms:

• David Henning, representing the cable television industry, for a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2025. Mr. Henning has over 20 years of experience and expertise in cable television network maintenance and work with PA One Call Law compliance.
  
  
• Charles Dippo, representing the excavator industry, for a three-year term beginning on January 1, 2025. Mr. Dippo brings more than 40 years of utility operations experience and expertise in damage prevention, along with advanced degrees in civil engineering and engineering management.
  
  
• Larry Ditty, as designee for the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, for a three-year term retroactive to January 1, 2024. With extensive utility relocation experience, including serving as PennDOT’s Chief Utility Relocation Administrator, Mr. Ditty brings expertise in utility relocation management and infrastructure coordination.

The PUC appreciates the expertise and dedication of these individuals in advancing the committee’s mission of safety and compliance.

About the DPC

The DPC plays a critical role in protecting underground utility infrastructure, promoting public safety, and ensuring compliance with the PA One Call Law. Members of the DPC represent various sectors, including telecommunications, cable television, excavators, and government agencies, bringing diverse perspectives to the enforcement of state regulations designed to prevent damage to underground facilities.

The DPC is a peer-based group of representatives, nominated by their industry or affiliated organization and appointed by the PUC. The focus of the DPC is to reduce the number of “hits” on underground lines and utilities.

The DPC meets regularly to review alleged violations of the One Call Law and make informal determinations as to the appropriate response including, but not limited to, the issuance of warning letters, mandatory training programs and/or administrative penalties. Summaries of actions taken at DPC meetings are available in the DPC section of the PUC’s website.

Membership on the DPC includes: non-municipal owned or affiliated facility owner industries, such as the electric, natural gas or petroleum pipelines, telephone, water or wastewater and cable television industries; excavators; municipal governments; and municipal authorities. Members serve three-year terms and may reapply after their term is completed.

About the PUC

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission balances the needs of consumers and utilities; ensures safe and reliable utility service at reasonable rates; protects the public interest; educates consumers to make independent and informed utility choices; furthers economic development; and fosters new technologies and competitive markets in an environmentally sound manner.

Visit the PUC’s website at puc.pa.gov for recent news releases and video of select proceedings. You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Search for the “Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” or “PA PUC” on your favorite social media channel for updates on utility issues and other helpful consumer information.

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Docket No.: M-2018-3000261

Contact:

• Nils Hagen-Frederiksen
  Press Secretary
  717-418-2701
  nhagen-fre@pa.gov