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The Right Tree in the
Right Place
Trees and shrubs play an
important role in our lives, and
the benefits we receive from
properly-planted ones are many.
They consume carbon dioxide
and produce oxygen, can
help us conserve energy
and money, provide
shelter for birds and small
animals, help control soil
erosion, serve as privacy
screens and noise
barriers and add
character and value to
property.
While many of the hundreds of
species of trees thrive in our
region, not all trees are
appropriate for all settings.
And, choosing the right tree
to plant near power lines,
padmounted transformers and switchgear is critical.
Proper planting can help to
reduce tree-related outages
and electric-related injury to you and LES
crews.
The Right Tree
Planting the proper trees
adjacent to overhead utility
lines along your property or
leading to your home can
avoid future problems. See LES’
"The Right Tree in the Right
Place/Planting Trees & Shrubs for
Conservation & Safety brochure"* for a list of
trees you can plant. Your
nursery can provide more
detailed and specific
information to assist you in
selecting a tree that will not
conflict with utility lines and
electrical facilities.
Lincoln’s Master Street Tree
Program has a listing that
designates the specific types of
street trees that may be planted
on the public right-of-way along
with the proper locations. To
avoid misunderstandings, you
should contact the City
Arborist, Lincoln Parks &
Recreation Department, at
441-7035, before planting any
street tree on the public
right-of-way.
Also keep in mind the following
when choosing the right tree…
-
Walls shaded by trees are as
much as 15 degrees cooler
than unshaded walls.
-
Trees and shrubs help reduce
winter heating costs by
channeling cold winds away from
your home, thus reducing drafts.
-
Select deciduous trees
(which lose their leaves in
winter) for summer shading,
allowing you to take advantage
of passive solar heat from the
winter sun.
-
Select coniferous
(evergreen) trees and shrubs
for a winter wind-break.
The Right Place
-
Small trees can be
planted adjacent to overhead
utility lines. See
Selection
Guidelines* for small tree types.
-
Medium trees can be
planted 15 feet or more and 25
feet or more (depending on the
type of tree)—measured
horizontally—from overhead
utility lines. See
Selection
Guidelines* for medium tree
types.
-
Large trees can be
planted 30 feet or more—measured
horizontally—from overhead
utility lines. See
Selection
Guidelines* for large tree types.
-
Shrubs can be planted 10
feet or more from the front door
opening of pad-mounted
transformers and switchgear and
three feet or more from the
equipment on the other three
sides. See
Selection Guidelines*
for shrub types.
The location of underground
utilities—electrical, telephone,
natural gas and cable TV
lines—are not so obvious. Once
you’ve decided what you want to
plant and where you would like
to plant the trees or shrubs,
call the Diggers Hotline service
by dialing 811. They will
mark the location of underground
utility lines, so you won’t
accidentally dig into them
causing an outage or personal
harm.
Transmission Line
Rights-of-Way Requirements
When vegetation and man-made
construction are located too
closely to transmission lines,
they create hazardous
conditions. In fact, contact
with an energized power line or
arcing (flow of electricity
through the air) of one will
cause property damage or serious
bodily injury, including death.
For safety and reliability, LES
is required by the North
American Electric Reliability
Corporation (NERC) to ensure
natural and man-made hazards
likely to interfere with
electric transmission lines are
eliminated.
See the procedures that have
been established concerning
LES transmission rights-of-way.
For more information…
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