Tree Trimming / Right-of-Way Management
More Than Maintenance:
Reliability, Safety, and Responsibility
Our goal is to ensure reliable power for our members. Trees provide oxygen, offer shade, create habitats for wildlife, and more. However, when trees grow near power lines, they can pose serious safety risks and affect the reliability of your electric service.
At Plateau Electric Cooperative, maintaining clear rights-of-way around power lines is a critical part of our commitment to providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity.
TREE
TRIMMING
The Cooperative is responsible for maintaining the primary electric line. The secondary line (the line from your transformer to your residence, place of business, etc.) is the members responsibility to maintain. If you have a tree on your secondary line and would like to schedule us to come disconnect the service so you can safely cut the tree, you may call and schedule to do so at one of our locations. If you call to schedule, please allow 48 hours' notice to do so.
HERBICIDE
SPRAYING
Herbicide spraying helps prevent outages by keeping right-of-ways' free of trees, underbrush, and other obstacles, which is essential for both reliability and safety.
If you would like to be exempt from herbicide spraying, and you own the property you may stop by our office to fill out and sign one of our no-spray contracts. By doing so, you, the member are required to maintain ground level clearance of the right-of-way.
TREE ORDER
REQUEST
If you are the property owner, and have a tree on your primary line, you may report it at one of our offices by filling out a tree order. Please ensure the tree you are reporting is marked with paint or tape, so that when crews arrive to grade the tree, it is clearly recognizable. Once your tree order is received, it will go through a grading process, where crews will assess the tree. If it is recommended that the tree is cut, PEC crews will come out at a later time and cut the tree. Our crews do not clean up the remaining brush, this is the members responsibility.
LINE EXTENSION
POLICY B3
Section 13 Right-of-Way Clearing
"All right-of-way clearing for new line extensions will be cleared
by the applicant to the cooperative's specifications. If, in the opinion of management, it becomes necessary for the cooperative to clear the right-of-way, a charge based on the
estimated cost of clearing will be required from the applicant prior to clearing; after clearing, the actual cost of clearing will be obtained, and the cooperative will reconcile with the applicant any differences between estimated and actual clearing costs."
Safety for us, is safety for you.
Right-of-way maintenance is crucial for ensuring reliable power, enhancing safety during storms, and enabling faster restoration times.
Trees near power lines present significant hazards. If a tree contacts high-voltage lines under the right conditions, it can become a conductor, potentially carrying dangerous electricity that could harm you and your family. By maintaining a clear right-of-way, we can reduce the risk of such accidents.
