Follow PEC's Planting Guide for Safe, Reliable Power
Spring is here, and many of our members will freshen up their landscaping by getting new plants in the ground. When making plans for your plants, it’s easy to overlook the impact they could have on your electric service. PEC’s handy guide is here to help!
When bad weather hits, many outages are caused by vegetation coming into contact with PEC equipment. Following this guide is an opportunity for you to make your service more reliable and the job safer for our lineworkers.
Right tree, right place
As a homeowner, you want your trees to be strong and healthy — so do we! Help protect your plants; never allow trees, bushes, or plants of any size to grow directly under electric lines. Before planting, consider the mature size of the species you’ve selected; falling trees and branches may cause storm outages. Refer to this chart to see how far away your tree should be planted from power lines.
Planting around electric equipment
To work safely, lineworkers require ample space around underground electric equipment. When planting near the green or gray metal boxes called pad-mounted transformers, leave a 10-foot clearance in front and a five-foot clearance around the sides and back. This equipment is connected to the electric system, so use caution!
Get ’em a trim
Check the trees on your property; if any branches are hanging over or at risk of falling into power lines or the service drop to your home, request free trimming from PEC through your online account or by calling us at 888-554-4732. Never trim trees near electrical equipment yourself!
Dial 811 before you dig
Power lines and other utilities can be anywhere underground. Always call 811 before you dig. It’s the law — and it could save your life. Learn more at Texas811.org.
These practices not only keep you and our crews safe — they also help us get the power back on as quickly as possible during an outage. Together, we can grow reliability from the ground up!
