Incident shows what can go wrong when trimming around power lines
Meadow Branch – 2022 has been snowy for Graham County.
In late-January, Torey Bennett – who owns a house and land off Meadow Branch Road in western Graham County – was worried that tree limbs overhanging the power line behind his house would be weighted down and cause an outage when the next snow arrived.
He contacted Duke Energy, which sent a contractor out to his place to assess the situation. The contractor didn’t think the issue was an immediate threat and advised that it would continue to be evaluated during the regular maintenance process.
The contractor also said that because it was a feeder line, Bennett was on his own, Bennett said.
A few days later – during a rainy, misty morning, with snow in the forecast – Bennett took matters into his own hands. He backed his pickup near the lines, put a 7-foot ladder in the back and – equipped with a lopper – he got to cutting.
Moments later, a shower of sparks and molten metal put an end to his do-it-yourself effort.
The mishap could have been far worse: his collar was scorched, his lopper had a piece melted off and he got the shock of his life that left him with chest pain for several days. Bennett said friends told him it would have been worse if the ladder were not in the back of a pickup truck, which provided some degree of insulation. It could have been far worse than a mishap.
“I should have gone to the hospital,” he said.
Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said the company maintains 100,000 miles of overhead power lines, including the 117-mile line that serves Bennett’s Meadow Branch property.
Brooks said the utility company has been in the process of servicing that specific line and is nearing completion, including trimming limbs and – when necessary – cutting trees.
He said the specialist who looked at Bennett’s property noted that it was not in immediate danger of bringing down the line. If there had been a threat, the company would have taken action, Brooks said.
In cases like this, residents who want their tree limbs or trees cut sooner than later are advised to hire a professional tree trimmer. Duke Energy will send a crew out to power down the line while trimming is in progress.
Brooks said feeder lines (the lines that connect main lines to the meters on individual properties) can withstand occasional contact with tree limbs, even if they are weighted down with snow.
Prolonged contact is another matter, he said.
He said the specialist “didn’t feel that the line was presenting an immediate risk” at Torey Bennett’s property.
Vegetation management is a significant part of what Duke Energy does, he said.
“We work hard to strike a balance preserving the beauty of trees and maintaining reliable service,” he said.
In all cases, safety is the focus, he said.
According to its policy, “Duke Energy does not prune trees for light levels or pattern. Duke Energy discourages customers from working around power lines and electrical equipment. It’s the responsibility of the property owner to maintain the growth of any trees interfering with the lighting pattern.”
Here are some examples of requests for work that Duke Energy does not perform or that may be deferred:
* Vegetation is not affecting power reliability at present but will be evaluated during the next regular maintenance pruning cycle.
* Vegetation is impacting cable TV and/or telephone lines but is not affecting power reliability.
* Vegetation is affecting the illumination pattern of an outdoor light but is not affecting power reliability.
* Vegetation is near a service drop, the low-voltage power line running from its pole to a house or business. Call Duke Energy Customer Service to request the line be de-energized before completing any tree work.
For more information, go to duke-energy.com/community/trees-and-rights-of-way/how-we-manage-trees/tree-trimming-practices.