Introduction
The steel utility pole is an engineered product. It is designed to American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) criteria, National Electric Safety Code (NESC) minimum load requirements, and uses material and manufacturing to ASTM International specifications and welding to American Welding Society (AWS) specifications. The result is an extremely strong and reliable product with uniform dimensions and strength, but without twists, knots, splits or bows. Through design, a steel pole is a lighter product — at least 30 percent lighter than wood.