The Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority initially has ruled the state’s utilities must give property owners proper notice before trimming or cutting down trees near power lines.
The draft decision comes three years after the state’s utilities – particularly Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating – stepped up their vegetation management efforts following the two large-scale electrical outages in 2011, which were caused by trees and branches falling on power lines.
The ruling came after several property owners complained and excessive trimming and cutting down of their trees near the power lines.
PURA’s decision said utilities must give notice to property owners before trimming or removing trees. If property owners object to the trimming or removal, then the local tree warden or the transportation commissioner must make a ruling whether the tree must be removed. The property owners or the utilities can appeal to PURA if they disagree with the tree wardens’ decisions.
PURA’s draft decision also directs telecommunications utilities AT&T and Verizon to incorporate more tree trimming into their activities, because nearly 860,000 utility poles are jointly owned by telecommunications and electric utilities.
Regulators will make a final ruling on the matter June 11 after hearing comments on the draft decision.
