Tree trimming by Utility Companies

[Mac McQuinn]

The area I live in has been recently informed by the Utilities company which provides electricity, our trees will be trimmed or cut down to maintain clearance for the power lines. Do we have any legal standpoint to make sure our trees are left in a condition as to not adversely affect our property value or future tree structure integrity? Any views on this or does anyone has the legal statutes concerning this?

Thanks, Mac

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I suspect they have the legal right to do it.

They do it here regularly.

[Joe Pelonio]

check your deed, most likely there's a utility easement 10' or more back from the property line which allows them to cut or remove anything they want that interferes with their operation. Since the workers doing this are not certified arborists it may be that you can make an arrangement, as my Mom did in her area, to have it done by the company of your choice before they came through.

[Jim Becker]

They can do what they do and there's not much you can do about it...

I'm hoping they actually come back and take down the tree at the end of one driveway that they said was going to come down last year.

[Andrew Arndts]

Yes they have a legitimate right to remove trees if they're a risk to cause damage to power lines.

[Pat Keefe]

Over in Australia, the utility companies have the legal right to remove/trim any trees planted under the overhead wires and to direct the home owner to trim/remove foliage from overhead connection wires. This is done to ease the risk of interruptions to supply. Asthetics and property values are not considered.

The real problem is the local councils or homeowners planting inappropriate trees under and near the lines, ie plant only shrubs that grow 9' tall and keep the base of the poles and any other infrastructure clear of gardens/plantings.

[Mike Cutler]

Mac

You have rights, you just need to check with your state. Also a call to the Utilities company can provide you with the clearance requirements. It's not as simple as just the ability of a tree to contact a power line, or there wouldn't be any trees within ~ 60 feet of any power line.
The limbs that we go after are primarily the ones that overhang the power lines and can drop straight down into them, Trees/limbs that are leaning, or are diseased, toward the power lines are candidates also.
Rarely will the utility cut down an entire tree on a residential property. It's the limbs that are the biggest threat. You can however have a tree in your yard "condemned", and be forced to have it removed at your expense.
Find out when the line crews will be in your area and make plans to talk with them, They're human too and own their own properties. They're not bad guys. A nice polite conversation will yield positive results.

It's necessary to trim the limbs. It really is.

[Dan Hintz]

If it hasn't been checked in a while, I've seen wholesale cutting of entire sides of trees. Looks really odd to see a full-grown tree from one side and a lopsided monstrosity from the other because the company cut straight down the side.

[Chris Damm]

Consumers Power came through here and really butchered the pine tress that lined the front of my property. They topped them off about 18' up and I cut the rest down. They were in the right of way so they had to go. In the years since they did this in our area we have had a whole lot less power failures from falling branches so I guess it was worth it!

[Bonnie Campbell]

As Mike said, have a face to face chat with the trimmers. They can be reasonable.

In Natchez it had been a continuous conflict. People didn't think THEIR trees were a problem. Yeah, some trees were butchered and it might of been best if totally removed. I can say I was delighted seeing major trimming going on though. Try losing your power when someone in the house is on oxygen, it's NOT a good thing.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

My area has underground utilities, and they STILL come and trim trees - except it's the town (not the power company) and they do it if they are too close to the street lights. The problem I have is that these guys are total hacks - they butchered a tree that was a good 20' away from a street light - and of course they took half it off - and they didn't touch the one that was almost right next to it.

It might be a good idea to try to 'meet' them when they're out, and see if you can make suggestions on what and what not to cut.

[Brian Elfert]

The electric company here uses a tree trimming company, but I don't think the tree trimming company actually has any arborists. Instead they hire any idiot who can run a chain saw. They give zero consideration to leaving the tree looking decent. They just hack off any branch they think could cause issues with the power lines.

I had a branch that fell on the power lines this summer. It took me a half a dozen calls and two weeks before they sent someone out to remove the branch. The lines were insulated so the power wasn't out, but I didn't want a storm to cause the lines to break under the strain of the branch.

[Jim O'Dell]

It goes on here too. No say so. In fact, recently over in Dallas, one lady sat in her driveway with a shotgun, IIRC. Now that's NOT the way to do it!!! But this brings up a whole 'nuther question....Why do we plant trees under the power lines??? I doubt that the electric company came in and set poles and stretched line over existing trees. Does it have something to do with property lines and "I want to make sure my neighbor knows where his property ends"? Even on the less than residential streets here, there are trees lining the hwy under the power lines. The power company trimmers come in and cut a "V" out of the middle of them. Looks really strange.
But anyway, that's why there is an easement at property lines so that they have the legal right to do what needs to be done. Jim.

[Brian Elfert]

None of the trees around my neighborhood are directly under power lines. The problem is that many trees are 75+ years old and they have grown to tremendous size and overhang power lines. One tree in my front yard has a 5 foot diameter trunk. Luckily, that tree is tall enough not to endanger power lines.

My power line to my house actually runs through the middle of my backyard. There was a an alley or an alley easement that was abandoned by the city 50 or 60 years ago. You would never know there was an alley other than the power lines. I replaced the existing condemned house with a new one in 2001. The power company ran my service underground to a pole in my backyard.

[Stephen Tashiro]

An interesting question is whether "the utility company" only means the power company. Often the same poles that have the power lines also have the lines from your local phone company monopoly and your local cable company monopoly.

[Phil Thien]

They did a pretty nice job on the maple behind my house (actually the neighbor's tree).

They had done periodic trimming over the years but a few years ago they had about three guys spend maybe 1.5 hours on it. My wife and I had thought they were too aggressive at first, but by the next spring I'd have to admit that it looked better than it had before them removed all the inner growth.

My point is, if they do trim the tree and it looks horrid, wait till spring and you may be surprised.

[Brian Elfert]

An interesting question is whether "the utility company" only means the power company. Often the same poles that have the power lines also have the lines from your local phone company monopoly and your local cable company monopoly.

At least around here the electric company owns the poles. The poles have tags with the electric company name and the pole number.

My guess is the other utilities rent pole space, but I don't really know.

[David Weaver]

Where I'm from (central PA), they slice and dice them anyway they want. Usually by cutting a large quadrant out in an angular way. Gets all of the old ladies upset - I think they expect topiary quality work on their trees.

Used to make my mother really angry (we have a lot of trees), she's an "old lady" now, I suppose.

Out here in the west, they let the trees just grow around the branches as long as the limbs are not heavy limbs. I haven't seen them cut a tree in my neighborhood in 4 years, and there are plenty that have branches on the wires - mine included.

As mentioned previously, if you can have some luck and be there when they're there, you might get a result you like. If not, I guess you could always hire an arborist or a friend with a bucket truck to try to cut the tree back from the wires in a way that's satisfying to you, in hopes that the utility will pass it by.

[Lee Schierer]

The area I live in has been recently informed by the Utilities company which provides electricity, our trees will be trimmed or cut down to maintain clearance for the power lines. Do we have any legal standpoint to make sure our trees are left in a condition as to not adversely affect our property value or future tree structure integrity? Any views on this or does anyone has the legal statutes concerning this?

Thanks, Mac

As I understand it, you can refuse the trimming of your trees, but then you become liable for any repair costs resulting from utility damage done by your trees. The tree trimmers pretty much trim what they want and don't really care what the end result looks like. However, it won't hurt to talk with them. They removed a dead tree from my property that had one limb above the telephone lines and below the power lines at no cost to me. Al they left were the large diameter chunks of main trunk.

The best solution is to plant trees farther from utility lines in the first place.

[Dave Lehnert]

I guess it all depends if it is on your property or not if you would have any say about it. Around my neck of the woods the "Right of way" is 40 feet from the yellow line in the road. Yes, you may mow it, fertilize it, rake it etc.... but the state can do as they wish. 40 feet is kinda wide and most likely less in other areas. Just have to check it out.
People always give the government or large co. heck. but I have found around here, if I called or paid a visit in person, they were very helpful and willing to work with me.

[Charlie Reals]

Mac

You have rights, you just need to check with your state. Also a call to the Utilities company can provide you with the clearance requirements. It's not as simple as just the ability of a tree to contact a power line, or there wouldn't be any trees within ~ 60 feet of any power line.
The limbs that we go after are primarily the ones that overhang the power lines and can drop straight down into them, Trees/limbs that are leaning, or are diseased, toward the power lines are candidates also.
Rarely will the utility cut down an entire tree on a residential property. It's the limbs that are the biggest threat. You can however have a tree in your yard "condemned", and be forced to have it removed at your expense.
Find out when the line crews will be in your area and make plans to talk with them, They're human too and own their own properties. They're not bad guys. A nice polite conversation will yield positive results.

It's necessary to trim the limbs. It really is.

+1 to your whole statement mike. We have been trimming for years, yes a few trees get mutilated from time to time but we also have fewer outages and where it really counts in the forest interface it has virtually stopped line caused fires. I have on many occasions gave the trimmers coffee and food on cold rainy days and it has gotten me fire wood and turning stock delivered to my shed ;):)
I have found most of the crews to only trim what is needed on private property .

[Zach England]

I got a huge box elder tree removed for free that way. They had seen that I had been cutting at it (it blocked sun from my vegetable garden) and offered to take it down completely. It saved me thousands.

Here the tree companies the power company contracts with seem to be competent. The city contractors, on the other hand, are terrible. I prune "their" 100-year-old maple at the curb myself to keep them from butchering it.