service lines

[skew]

Curious about how different location's power companies treat service drops. Around here the line maintenance used to stop at the service drop. Homeowners were required to maintain their own service-i.e. hire a contractor to do it.
Lately the Power company here has taken to doing service drop clearing- there by "taking" the work away from us.
Not getting a very clear response from the representative.

 

[Boomslang]

Here, it's the responsibility of the land owner....unless they bitch to the utility enough, then they might send someone out.

 

[Reach]

In this area both power companies avoid service drops. They do no clearance around them. However, one of them will take down the drop for the homeowner for the day if they wish, and reinstall it, free of charge. We’ve only done that once or twice, it’s very hard to schedule.

 

[VenasNursery]

In this area both power companies avoid service drops. They do no clearance around them. However, one of them will take down the drop for the homeowner for the day if they wish, and reinstall it, free of charge. We’ve only done that once or twice, it’s very hard to schedule.

Michigan is the same

 

[cerviarborist]

There have been incidences of trees hitting service drops hard enough to shock the pole holding the primaries, to the point that the primary became detached from the pole and came down. Some utilities are starting to look at service drops from that perspective, and on occasion, pruning or removing trees if necessary.

 

[AlanKekoa]

Around here the utility does trims on service drops for strain or abrasion, otherwise the homeowner is supposed to schedule to have it de-energized for the day if they’re having a private company that’s not line clearance certified to work on those trees.

 

[oldoakman]

The interesting thing about this is in most cases, the power company is responsible for providing electric service to the meter head and the home owner has responsibility beyond that point. The HO also is responsible for the mast if it has been damaged. Kind of a double edged sword there.

 

[evo]

Around here the service drop above or below ground is on the property owner. Unmaintained by them as well.
They charge to disconnect or reconnect for any reason BUT it’s free for arborists. It’s a 50-50 if the receptionist knows that, it’s a 50-50 if they even know the procedures. Sometimes I feel I should be the one getting paid by the power company for training their employees..
there has been more than once when they haven’t showed up. A mid day phone call revealed the really did cut the power, but to a different house 50 miles away!!
Non payers be ware free chips in the driveway infront if the garage door for life, and random power shut offs!

 

[theatertech87]

Theres a few municiple utilities around here and one large utility and they each have different rules. one maintains everything attached to the poles and has 2 foot clearance specs for guy lines, house drops, pole to pole secondaries, and 10 feet for primaries; another does strain and abrasion on services/secondaries, and 3 feet on primaries, and the large utility does 15 feet on primaries, and will only trim secondaries if they burn down, or someone complains about it enough. House drop trimming is at the homeowners discretion to have performed.

All of them will trim services as part of restoration, or if a tree fails and lands on the service...