page_title: Utility pole
section_title: Coordinates on pole tags
hierarchical_section_title: Utility pole / Markings / Coordinates on pole tags
caption_attribution_description: English: A picture of a Delmarva Power 69kV subtransmission pole in Crisfield, Maryland, United States, along with a closeup of its pole tag, showing the subtransmission route number, its pole number, and the two grid numbers.
context_page_description: A utility pole is a column or post used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It can be referred to as a transmission pole, telephone pole, telecommunication pole, power pole, hydro pole, telegraph pole, or telegraph post, depending on its application. A Stobie pole is a multi-purpose pole made of two steel joists held apart by a slab of concrete in the middle, generally found in South Australia.
  Electrical wires and cables are routed overhead on utility poles as an inexpensive way to keep them insulated from the ground and out of the way of people and vehicles. Utility poles can be made of wood, metal, concrete, or composites like fiberglass. They are used for two different types of power lines: subtransmission lines, which carry higher voltage power between substations, and distribution lines, which distribute lower voltage power to customers.
  The first poles were used in 1843 by telegraph pioneer William Fothergill Cooke, who used them on a line along the Great Western Railway.
context_section_description: A practice in some areas is to place poles on coordinates upon a grid. The pole at right is a Delmarva Power pole located in a rural area of the state of Maryland in the United States. The lower two tags are the "X" and "Y" coordinates along said grid. Just as in a coordinate plane used in geometry, X increases as one travels east and Y increases as one travels north. The upper two tags are specific to the subtransmission section of the pole; the first refers to the route number, the second to the specific pole along the route.
  However, not all power lines follow the road. In the British region of East Anglia, EDF Energy Networks often add the Ordnance Survey Grid Reference coordinates of the pole or substation to the name sign.
  In some areas, utility pole name plates may provide valuable coordinate information: a poor man's GPS.
caption: The tags on a Delmarva Power subtransmission pole located in Crisfield, Maryland, United States. The faded tag reads "733"
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