Tree on a line right now? Stay back, keep everyone away and call 911 or Duke Energy. Treat every line as live. Once the utility has made it safe, call us 24/7 at 828-367-9685.
Two kinds of lines
Primary lines are the higher-voltage wires that run along the tops of the poles down your street. Duke Energy maintains the trees and vegetation around them, on a regular cycle, with crews qualified for line clearance work.
The service line (or service drop) is the lower-voltage wire from the pole to the meter on your house. According to Duke’s FAQ, the property owner has primary responsibility for keeping it clear of trees. In older Asheville neighborhoods like West Asheville, where service drops run through big oaks and maples, this is one of the most common reasons we get called.
What Duke Energy does
- Trims around primary lines on its own maintenance cycle.
- Takes tree trimming requests online when a tree is affecting a primary line. Duke asks that you first confirm a primary line, not the service line or a phone or cable line, is involved. Work that isn’t a reliability risk may wait for the next scheduled cycle.
- Turns off your service line for free so a tree crew can work safely, and turns it back on afterward.
- Evaluates heavy pressure on a service line. If a tree or big limb is weighing on the wire to your house, you can submit a request for Duke to look at it.
What the homeowner handles
- Trees around the service line to your house.
- Cleanup after storms. Duke says wood and debris from storm damage is the owner’s to dispose of.
- Phone and cable lines belong to those companies, not Duke. Call them for their wires.
How we handle trees near your service line
- We look at the tree and the line during a free estimate and tell you whether Duke needs to turn the line off.
- You call Duke to schedule the disconnect for the day of the work (we help line up the timing).
- We prune the tree back from the wire, or take it down in sections if it’s a hazard, and lower the pieces on ropes. See tree removal.
- We chip the brush, haul the wood and leave the yard clean. Duke reconnects the line.
Never prune near a line yourself. Duke Energy says only line-clearance qualified workers should work near power lines. A branch that touches a wire can carry current to a ladder, a pole saw or a person.
Sources: Duke Energy, Trees and rights-of-way FAQ,Tree trimming practices andTree pruning requests.