ATCO Electric Yukon | Maintaining Vegetation Around Power Lines

We’re committed to the responsible, reliable and safe operation and maintenance of our electrical infrastructure and facilities. Vegetation management is an essential component to ensuring a safe and reliable system, and we seek to complete this important work in an environmentally responsible manner. 

There are several reasons why trees and power lines don’t mix:

Trees touching or near power lines pose a potential risk or may cause a fire.
Trees near power lines can also cause a flashover, which is a sudden release of energy and can be extremely dangerous.

There are regulations we follow to ensure safe operation of our systems. This helps prevent trees from posing issues for public safety or service.

By eliminating trees that pose a threat, we can remove trees that cause outages or flickering and, in the event of an outage, a clear right of way makes it easier for crews to identify the issue.

Customer Responsibilities

It's your responsibility to maintain the trees and vegetation around the service wire (the line that carries electricity from the pole to your home) and transformer boxes near your property. The height of trees and vegetation in this area should be at least 0.6 metres below the service wire, and shrubs and plants near transformer boxes must have three meters clearance on all sides.

The diagram below demonstrates the difference between the responsibilities of ATCO Electric Yukon and the customer.

Maintaining vegetation around transformer boxes

Utility's Responsibility

Usually run along the road
Not on private property
Services multiple customers

Customer Responsibility

Pole within your property boundary
Supports overhead power lines to your home or other buildings on your property
Does not supply power to other customers

You can safely perform your own vegetation maintenance by keeping yourself, the tools you're using and all parts of the tree at least three metres (10 feet) away from the power line. If you can't or are unsure how, contact a Certified Utility Arborist to prune your trees.

When having your trees pruned or removed, you can arrange to have your power service temporarily disconnected or wires temporarily removed by calling us at 867-633-7000. In most cases, there is no charge for this service.

Safety First, Always

Never prune or trim a tree near a high voltage or primary power line, always call ATCO Electric Yukon for assistance. If you notice that a tree is touching or is close to a power line, please contact us at 867-633-7000.

New Construction Responsibilities

For new construction, customers are responsible for brushing their own property. We've provided diagrams below to give you guidelines on how to brush your property correctly. We will flag brushing that needs to be done. Brushing should not start until the proposed alignment has been agreed upon.

The following brushing diagrams are approved for the right of way requirements for the various power line construction types.

For questions related to brushing or vegetation management, please contact us at 867-633-7000 or 1-800-661-0513.

Planting Near Power Lines

There are some considerations when planting near power lines to help avoid potential issues, like the tree falling on the power line during a storm or growing into the line.

Here are some important tips to follow before you purchase new trees or hedges for your property:

Familiarize yourself with the various 'zones' when planting near electrical equipment.
Research the height a tree or shrub will be when it’s fully grown.
Select a variety that won't interfere with the electrical equipment on or near your property.
Regularly prune trees and shrubs to keep them outside of the recommendation zones.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a brushing patrol look like?

ATCO Electric Yukon employees or contractors will park along the road or within your driveway to setup for patrols. All our crews will have an ATCO Electric Yukon truck or an ATCO Electric Yukon decal on their vehicles. The patrollers will need to either drive, walk or travel in an all-terrain vehicle along the power line to see if any vegetation needs to be managed.

Wood debris from trees our contractors have cut down: The wood and debris belong to the property owner and will be left on the property. Our customers pay for the cost of cutting down hazardous trees to keep our system safe through the rates they pay. Removal and disposal of wood debris is not included. Additionally, many property owners wish to use the wood from their felled tree. In some cases, we attempt to notify customers for hazard tree removals but if we are unable to reach the homeowner, we still need to cut the hazardous tree.
Why does ATCO Electric Yukon patrol power lines?

Sometimes trees interfere with or are a potential risk to our power lines. It is our responsibility to maintain vegetation so trees don’t encounter our lines which can cause property damage, power outages or personal injuries.

We, along with our contractors, patrol lines on a regular schedule to look for anything that may interfere with or disrupt normal power service to homes and businesses.
What happens if we find a problem on your property?

If we determine that a tree or other vegetation on your property is going to be a problem for our power line, we will inform you and discuss the work that will be required.

If the tree or vegetation is classified as an imminent emergency, ATCO Electric Yukon will take steps to make the power line safe and remove all danger from the area. We will try to contact the landowner prior to working on the tree, if we are unsuccessful in reaching you and feel this is an immediate threat to the system, we may have to complete work without giving notice for the landowner.
How do we maintain vegetation around our power lines?

We use certified arborists who are qualified for working near energized power lines. To maintain vegetation, they use methods like brush mow, hand slash, and spraying. Sometimes our work will require bucket trucks.
How do I know it’s an ATCO Electric Yukon employee at my door?

Ask for identification. Our employees and contractors will provide you with a business card. You are also welcome to call our office to verify our people at 867-633-7000 or 1-800-661-0513.
What to do if you think a power line could be impacted by a tree on your property?

For questions related to brushing, please contact us at 867-633-7000 or 1-800-661-0513.

Maintaining Vegetation Around Power lines