Tree Work

Tree Work and Vegetation Management

Taking care of trees and power lines go hand-in-hand

We are proud to provide reliable, essential electricity service. When service is interrupted, it is most often due to a tree contacting power lines. To minimize interruptions, we prune for line clearances and remove trees and vegetation in our rights of ways and maintenance easements. We also encourage the practice of planting the “right tree in the right place”. Learn more below and learn how to protect trees by visiting the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation website.

Removing and Pruning Trees Near Distribution Lines

To provide you with reliable power, we prune branches for line clearances that could interfere with power lines. In addition to improving power reliability, we trim to provide a safe environment for the public and other utility workers. Our licensed arborists coordinate with qualified tree crews as well as local towns to ensure that the job is done right. At the local Arborist’s discretion, we remove vegetation encroaching on RG&E energized equipment, approximately 10 feet to the side and 15 feet above, of the power lines.

RG&E performs routine line clearance for the power lines on a 5 year trim cycle. In nonemergency situations we may defer customer requested tree work to our routine trim cycle.

  • Removing trees – At the local Arborist’s determination with a field inspection; we remove dead, dying, diseased and leaning trees within 10 feet of the lines. This includes trees that may interfere with the power lines or have compromised root systems, structural defects, heavy lean toward the lines, or are in a poor location. If you have a tree outside of our ROW or Maintenance easement that you feel is a threat to the wires; please reach out to RG&E customer service. A qualified arborist will inspect the tree and determine if further action is necessary.

House Service Wires

RG&E generally does not trim for pole to house/business service wires. It is the customer’s responsibility to keep their service wire clear of trees on their private property. Please hire a trained tree service professional to have your trees trimmed around your service wire. If your contractor needs the power disconnected to perform work, they can reach out to RG&E customer service to request a House Service Disconnect to allow for safe removal of tree limbs by your contractor.

If there is significant strain or abrasion on a service wire, that would lead to an immediate loss of power, RG&E can trim for a pole to house service wire. This is strictly at discretion of the RG&E Arborist. Any pruning we do follows American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards.

 

We Prune Trees Near Our Power Lines Only

We prune and sometimes remove trees and vegetation that could come into contact with our power lines. If you believe trees around utility lines need to be removed or pruned, we encourage you to contact the appropriate utility company – RG&E, the cable company or the telephone company. Do not attempt this work yourself.

 

Here are some additional safety tips:

  • Leave cutting and pruning of trees near power lines to professionals. A tree or limb that contacts a power line could be deadly.
  • Remind children not to climb trees near power lines or climb on pad-mounted transformers.
  • Avoid planting new trees under power lines, and follow our planting tips .


Our tree debris removal policy:

  • During scheduled maintenance tree work and customer requests in residential and landscaped areas, we chip and remove onsite all small debris and logs generated from tree work activities.
  • When customers request that we clear vegetation outside of our scheduled maintenance or in rural, non-landscaped areas, we leave the cut material behind for customer disposal.
  • When customers request that we clear vegetation outside of our scheduled maintenance (customer ticket requests); we will dispose of debris at the discretion of the customer.
  • Following a storm, our first priority is to restore service safely and as quickly and efficiently as possible, so when we have to cut vegetation, we leave cut materials behind for customer disposal or to naturally decompose. This includes leaving large debris generated from clearing trees downed by a storm. RG&E does not dispose of debris generated from storm or emergency work. Please hire a professional to have this debris disposed of.

Natural Trimming Methods

In yards and other landscaped areas, trees will be pruned using natural pruning methods established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Please note that during an emergency we may not be able to adhere to the natural pruning method. This pruning method involves cutting limbs where the tree would normally shed them and directing future growth away from power lines. While a newly pruned tree will look different, natural 
pruning protects the health of the tree, minimizes regrowth and requires fewer cuts. We will not paint pruned trees with tree wound dressings. Such dressings are cosmetic and do not stop decay. In fact, some studies show them to have a detrimental effect.

Selective Tree Removal

In rural and wooded areas, tree removal is an effective and economical method for controlling vegetation. Whenever practical, trees that are likely to grow into power lines will be removed. Tree removal is the best option when pruning alone cannot achieve adequate clearance from power lines.

Did you know?

Trees are the leading cause of power interruptions, accounting for nearly half of all interruptions.

Choose the right professional for trimming trees

We only clear trees, branches and vegetation near our electric lines. We do not prune around lines owned by cable or phone companies or remove vegetation that is not interfering with our lines. Never attempt to prune trees near power lines; leave that to professionals. If you are concerned about vegetation on Phone, Cable and Internet wires, please reach out to your local provider for further assistance.

Vegetation Management and Reclamation Program

More Information

If you have specific questions regarding the program, please contact us at 800.743.2110, or email us at ny.vegetation.management@avangrid.com using Tree Trimming in your subject line.