Will National Grid trim trees interfering with utility wires on my private property?

Submitted by ksoops t3_10j0bon in massachusetts

I've got two power / utility poles on my lot along side my driveway to deliver power to my house. The wet snow has weighed down several white pines near the power lines, putting an awful load on the wires. Is this something National Grid would help us with (i.e. trim some branches to bring relief to the wires)? As I understand, the utility company is responsible for the wires up to the connection at the house (electric meter)?

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egv78 t1_j5i2vjz wrote

I've heard a rumor that the key is to say that you're getting intermittent blinking of your lights whenever it's windy. If that's happening, it could mean that branches are contacting with the lines and causing shorts - which is a dangerous situation. So they'll def trim for that.

As for who's responsible for which parts, I've been told that NG is responsible for anything between the poles. But the last line from the pole to your house (even before it hits the meter) is actually homeowner's responsibility.

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DARfuckinROCKS t1_j5l79b6 wrote

Actually you should tell them your lights keep getting really bright and then dim. Flicking is a loose leg(low priority), dimming is a loose neutral, big fire hazard. They'll move you up the list because they're liable and they don't like to pay. I work for Evilcorp electric. :)

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MentallyMusing t1_j5hm9lu wrote

Yes, you can place a service call to them and Verizon to verify whose run it is, not all have dual use and telephone cables along a run can be surprisingly large and go for quite awhile in some areas without being broken out with a terminal so it's not out of the question... It's highly unlikely the cable company owns it as they came in third to the game and the other two already had ownership. Good Luck! Just tell them what you wrote here and the address... They usually take things like this serious because of the potential hazards it could create further away for someone working on the lines... Ice and snow are big deals they're good about sending techs out to get straightened

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ksoops OP t1_j5ho73v wrote

Thanks for the info!

I'll give them a call.

It's a national grid power line and an additional Verizon fiber line at lower elevation

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MentallyMusing t1_j5hprod wrote

I'd give both a call and hopefully it's an automated system to report downed lines for both you don't want that fiber cable snapping... That's a really good amount of out telephone and television if that happens too

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TheSkiGeek t1_j5hzkyh wrote

They’ve trimmed a tree on my property because it was too close to power lines, so… yes, they can do that. Although they trimmed near the lines on the street, not the one connecting to my house.

I’m not sure if you can explicitly request it, and I’m also not sure if you can stop them from doing it if it’s endangering public infrastructure. They didn’t ask me before they did it, just informed me as they were getting started.

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WTFisJuice t1_j5hx4ch wrote

I asked a very similar question to an arborist when I was looking to cut a few trees down on my property. I found his response pretty insightful: He said that the NGrid/Eversource crews that perform this work prefer that these trees come down during a storm, so they can get paid overtime to remove them.

They certainly should come out to trim your trees, but there may not be the impetus to do so.

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