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Trees and powerlines

Trees or other vegetation sometimes grow too close to power lines or equipment, creating a challenge in providing safe and reliable service.

Safety

Our electrical equipment transports high voltages of electricity. Contact with trees or shrubs can result in fires.

Reliability

Many power outages and interruptions are caused by tree limbs that fall into power lines.

Know the lines

Many neighbourhoods have different overhead utility lines and it's important to be able to identify them so you know who to call if there's a problem, or if vegetation isin encroaching on a line.

We work with a certified vegetation management contractor to trim trees near primary and secondary power lines. Only during emergency situations will we trim trees on your property that interfere with the service or communication lines, in which case the homeowner is responsible for the clean-up and will not have input on aesthetics or the visual impact. 

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Primary lines Secondary lines Service lines Communication cable lines
Primary lines
  • Typically located at the top of the pole
  • They run from pole to pole
  • Maintained by us and carry a high voltage
Secondary lines
  • ​They run from pole to pole
  • Maintained by us and carry lower voltages than primary lines
Service lines
  • They run from the pole to your home
  • Maintained by us and carry a low voltage
  • As a property owner, you are responsible to ensure that any vegetation or landscaping on your property does not interfere with any of the lines that run from the pole to your home
Communication cable lines
  • Typically, they are the lowest lines attached to the pole
  • They run from the pole to your home
  • Maintained by your cable or telephone provider

Easements on private property

Right-of-way easements allow us the authority to prune trees, without property owners' permission, in order to provide a safe and reliable electric system.

However, we respect your property and will always try to notify you of the need for the tree work before pruning is done. In unusual or emergency situations, it may be necessary to prune trees without first notifying you in order to restore service or eliminate safety hazards.

A tree has fallen on a powerline

Call our 24 hour power emergency line
(780) 412-4500 if the tree is: 

  • Interfering with primary power lines
  • Causing power service issues
  • Causing severe stress on the service line 

 

In an emergency

During a storm, tree branches can come into contact with powerlines and cause power outages. If a tree has fallen onto a powerline, we work to restore power to your home as quickly and safely as possible. This can mean trimming trees on your property to ensure power can be restored.  

It's important to report any trees in your neighbourhood that pose a threat to powerlines, before they lead to a power outage, using our online form shown below.

Request a tree trimming

 

​Tree trimming methods

​V Trimming

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L Trimming

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Side Trimming

​Where practical, we construct new utility lines to avoid potential conflicts with trees, either by installing lines underground or routing lines to avoid existing trees.

Learn more about the clearance requirements for power equipment on the property owner responsibility section of our website.

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