One thing I am not comfortable with is the way we tend to look at the PoCo, or the city, or whoever own the pole as if they were somehow responsible. I have a problem with that.
After all, they are themselves victims - victims of vandals and theives. There's only so much that can be done.
Even if the poles were so designed that making a replacement cover in the field was easy, it takes time and money. The PoCo has a few other things to do, aside from repairing deliberate malice.
Dollars to donuts, when electric cars become common, look for a lot more of this damage, as folks try to tap into the streetlights to 'top off' their charge.
