I have a tree with branches that are beginning to impinge on the power line going from the transformer to the house. What are the safety consideration s in removing these branches myself? If I'm up in the tree with a pole saw and don't contact the lines is there still an electrocution hazard?
Thanks
In my area it's as simple as a call to the utility company. They will trim any branches near or touching their lines...at NO charge.
Also, in my community, if trimming a tree could possibly cause damage or a safety problem, they will come out and disconnect your power wires and reconnected them within an hour of your job completion...
all at NO charge.
So call them first.
Instant death.
Yes
snipped-for-privacy@ork.ork
Typically, the power lines belong to the utility right up to the point where they enter your home and they are responsible for maintaining them up to that point. Call the utility.
In most places, tree trimming companies offer free estimates. The problem for gardeners is that lack of experience means we cannot foresee accurately which way cut branches will fall (levered by other branches etc.) Secondly, if we get into trouble, we do not often have all the equipment (wedges, pulleys etc.) that solve the problem safely. I have trimmed my own trees for 30 years but I cut only from ground level (never from a ladder) because I have never been trained in climbing.
Call your power co. they'll come out and take care of it.
philo wrote in news:lo44ue$dnf$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:
[snip partially restored]Since this does *not* involve branches near or touching the power company's lines, it's unlikely that they would do it at all, let alone free of charge.
That advice is a bit more practical...
the power line from the transformer to your house is the utility company's property and responsibility.
Maybe. If the lines are his, the power company usually won't touch them.
Worth a call to be sure though.
Do *NOT* try this at home kids but here is what I did (I'm sort of a professional):
I had a tree that needed trimming along the primary lines that pass over my yard but it was too expensive to have it removed by a tree service. So I took advantage of the annual summer storm that knocked out neighborhood power for 3 days and dropped the tree while the lines were dead. As you might imagine, the falling tree snapped the primary as it fell. Anyway, two days later, thinking that it was storm damage, the power company put the line back up free of charge.
My neighbour thinks I'm a bit crazy but he's glad the tree is gone so he kept his mouth shut.
Power company may or may not do the pruning themselves. That would be the first call I would make. I've got an old pole pruner with a wooden handle and feel I could safely handle it around the 220 volt line.
Not everywhere:
here in NTX, they have crews that go around a trim anything within 10 ft of the power lines
You don't want to get anywhere near that transformer. At the transformer th ere is high voltage and instant death. The line from the transformer to the house is only 240V. You can probably trim around that line without killing yourself if you are careful. Avoid using an aluminum ladder. Avoid touchin g the line.
I needed to repair some siding on my house. I called the utility to have them drop the line since it was attached to the house in the area where I would be working. First they cut it at the pole with a tree trimmer then they cut it at the top of my house to give me room to work. After the line had been dropped, the gentleman from the power company used the same pole mounted tree trimmer that he used to cut the lines at the pole to trim the trees from the pole (i.e. the public right of way) to my house so that when they put it back up it would be clear.
Not so. It depends on how the lines are run. For example, at my house, they are responsible for the wires up until the point that they attach to the bugs that connect their wires to the wires that go into a weather proof box at the top of my house. The service wire from the box down to the meter and then from the meter, around the side and back of the house and _then_ into the house are my responsibility.
I'd estimate there is more of my wire from the top of the house to my panel than there is from the pole to the top of my house.
Unlike everyone else that has responded to this thread, I will now provide you with the most useful and actionable answer to your question that you will ever receive:
Since you are in Orlando FL:
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If you notice a tree interfering with power lines, please call us immediately at 407-423-9018 in Orlando/ Orange County or 407-957-7373 in St. Cloud/Osceola County.
We trim only those trees on our easements and rights- of-way or trees endangering our power lines and equipment. This may include removal of invasive tree species of less than six inches in diameter that endanger our facilities.
If you notice a tree interfering with power lines, please call us immediately at 407-423-9018 in Orlando/Orange County or 407-957-7373 in St. Cloud/Osceola County.
Never attempt to trim a tree near electrical wires yourself.
As a further service - and at no cost to you - OUC will trim trees that encroach on the service entrance cable to your home. If you'd like us to perform this work, please call so that we can schedule this service while we are in your neighborhood.
And are you having troubles with tree branches potentially damaging the wires that are actually in/on your house? Didn't think so. Is the OP? No he is complaining about branches out in his yard. The utility will almost invariably be responsible for the wires up to the point where they first attach to the house -- the mast and weather head or whatever other approved entry method is used. It is unwise for the clueless to mess with potentially dangerous situations, especially when somebody else has the job of doing the dangerous stuff for you.
I never said I was. I was simply responding to your claim that "Typically, the power lines belong to the utility right up to the point _where they enter your home_." I do not believe that to be "typical" - and you are about to agree with me.
That is not what you said earlier. You originally said "up to the point where they enter your home". That can be, and usually is, very different than "up to the point where they first attach to the house".
You are pushing back on my comments after changing your statements to exactly match mine. That's a very strange debate technique.
I had not realized that we were engaged in a 'debate' as such. Perhaps I should have stated my original answer more pedantically taking into account every possible permutation of utility connection but I still believe that most people would understand the gist of my original answer which is that the wires aren't yours until they get to the house. The answer still is 'don't mess with the wires where they run through the trees -- get the utility company to do their job'.
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