If your utility is reevaluating how to go about your pole audits, you’re not alone. Past challenges and growing complexity regarding attachments, records, and compliance have many utilities asking whether a new audit model would work better.

In this article, we set out to help answer that question by outlining the four real-world approaches available, including their pros and cons and when each might make the most sense.

Pole audits are often viewed through the lens of compliance, but that’s only part of the story. Done right, a comprehensive audit is a high-value initiative that can recover substantial missed revenue, correct billing discrepancies, and transform your asset records into defensible, decision-ready data.

That perspective comes from experience. Alpine has spent over 40 years managing joint-use infrastructure for utilities, overseeing more than 2 million poles in the process. Time and again, our audits have helped utilities not only close compliance gaps, but recover lost revenue and strengthen their bottom lines.

Regular, detailed pole audits aren’t a luxury–they’re a necessity. From recovering lost revenue to ensuring safety to staying on the right side of regulatory oversight, the rewards of high-quality audits are far-ranging and potentially lucrative.

Moreover, pole audits aren’t just a standalone activity–they’re a system input. Audits are the foundation for permitting accuracy, billing integrity, and long-term joint-use governance.