WESLACO - A Rio Grande Valley man said he’s pleased a utility pole leaning onto his property was secured.   

Weslaco resident Cesar Batres said strong winds caused havoc in his neighborhood last month. He wanted something to be done for the safety of his family.

“A tree fell and pulled down many of the cables. The cables brought down the pole,” he said. “If a pole falls on the house and we are asleep, it would probably kill us.”

Batres said he called city hall but they never solved the issue. “I also called the power company and nothing happened,” he said.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS contacted AEP Texas two weeks ago for Batres’ case.

AEP Texas External Affairs Manager Daniel Lucio said a crew installed a large new utility pole. He said the company is willing to help the community in cases like these.

“We recommend the folks calls AEP and report any leaning poles. We always take those very seriously and we want the public to inform us when they see a safety issue,” he said.

Lucio said the old post near Batres’ property cannot be taken down by AEP. He said the utility pole, secured by the new pole, is shared by a cable and telephone company.

AEP recommends people to immediately report a pole that is leaning or downed power lines.

Customer service numbers:

AEP – 1-877-373-4858

Spectrum Cable – 1-888-438-2427

Frontier Communications – 1-888-339-2745