A utility pole on a Long Island street carries two groups of wires, and PSEG Long Island treats them very differently. The electric lines at the top of the pole are PSEG’s to keep clear. The lower lines, including phone, cable, fiber and the service wire that runs to your house, are not part of its trimming. Knowing which one a branch is touching tells you who to call.
Do not cut near a line yourself
The New York State Department of Public Service says only PSEG Long Island should trim or remove vegetation near power lines, and that working within 10 feet of any power line without proper training and certification is against state and federal law. The rule turns on training and certification, so ask any tree company you hire whether it is qualified before it works near a line.
If a limb or wire is broken, call PSEG at 1-800-490-0075.
What PSEG keeps clear, and how
PSEG’s routine trimming, which the Department of Public Service says runs on a four to five year cycle, keeps these distances around the distribution lines on residential streets:
| Direction | Clearance |
|---|---|
| Below the wire | 10 feet |
| To the sides | 8 feet |
| Above the wire | 12 feet |
| From secondary wires | 3 feet |
Higher-voltage transmission lines get more room: 18 feet from 23 kV and 69 kV lines, 25 feet from 138 kV lines, with every limb hanging over them removed.
Crews use directional pruning, PSEG says, cutting off the limbs growing toward the wires and keeping the ones growing away, and cutting back to another limb so new growth points away from the line.
PSEG says it has a legal right to come onto private property to trim or pick up debris. Crews knock on the front door first as a courtesy, but you cannot book a time. The Department of Public Service says PSEG gives public notice before trimming, and mails letters and leaves door hangers in the neighborhoods where work is planned.
The lower wires are not PSEG trimming
PSEG says its crews do not trim near the lower lines on the pole: phone, cable TV, fiber, fire alarm and home service lines. Branches resting on those, or normal growth touching a wire, are usually not treated as hazards. A branch that is pulling the service wire off the pole or the house is different. PSEG lists that as a hazard, so call 1-800-490-0075.
Help taking down a healthy tree
If a healthy tree within 10 feet of the primary or secondary wires has to come out, PSEG will make the dangerous part safe:
- Call 800-490-0025 for a home or 800-966-4818 for a business.
- Mark the tree with tape or spray paint.
- A contracted pre-checker comes out within two to five days, weather permitting.
- Plan on four to six weeks overall. Weather, other priorities and any planned outage can stretch it.
- On the day, PSEG’s crew removes the part of the tree in the danger zone.
- Your own tree company takes down the rest and removes the wood and debris.
Getting permission from neighbors whose yards are involved is the homeowner’s job. If PSEG spots another tree that has to come down for safety, it leaves a Tree Removal Permission Slip explaining why.
Who takes the debris
PSEG hauls away debris from its own planned trimming, planned hazard removals and severely damaged or dangerous trees, and says it is gone by the end of the day. It does not take:
- debris from a healthy tree taken down near the wires for reasons other than electrical safety, including anything that lands in a neighbor’s yard
- debris from storms or emergency restoration, when power comes first
- anything else already on the property
For storm debris, PSEG says to contact your town. The Town of Huntington, for example, sends calls about trees on town property or in the town right of way to its Highway Department at 631-499-0444.