Trees that are too close to power lines can be hazardous. If a tree on private property is close to a power line it is the responsibility of both the land owner and the lines owner to ensure the tree doesn’t become a safety hazard.

If the lines owner notices that a tree is growing towards the power lines they can issue the land owner with:

• a hazard warning notice – which means the land owner needs to prevent the tree from growing any closer to the power lines by keeping it trimmed back or having it cut down or
• a cut or trim notice – which means the tree has already grown so close to the power lines that it needs to be cut down or trimmed.

If the lines owner has issued an initial cut or trim notice then the lines owner must meet the cost of the first cut or trim of a particular tree. The work could be done by the lines owner, provided you have granted access to the tree. If the lines owner does the work they must remove the resulting debris.

Any subsequent trimming to prevent your tree from growing too close to the power lines will be your responsibility (as the tree owner) and at your cost.

If you don’t want to have any responsibility for the tree then you may be able to give a ‘no interest’ tree notice to the lines owner. This means that the lines owner can, at their own cost, remove or trim the tree as they wish, provided you grant access to the tree.

Treetech are approved contractors for clearing trees from power lines. We have the necessary equipment specific to jobs of this nature, are WorkSafe compliant for health and safety and have full professional indemnity insurance cover. This means that we can be trusted when it comes to the proper reduction and shaping of trees in power lines. We also operate an emergency callout service should any trees need urgent clearance from power lines as a result of high winds, snow or a storm.