Why Prune the Utility Maintenance Zone

Trees are an important part of the beauty of East Tennessee. When trees grow near or into power lines, however, KUB must prune them to balance their beauty with the safety and reliability our customers expect.

KUB inspects and prunes more than 5,000 miles of electrical lines on a three- to four-year rotating schedule. Once we get through the entire system, we begin the cycle again. We do this as part of our ongoing system maintenance at no additional charge to our customers.

Our crews check to see if trees, brush, or vines are growing within the standard safety maintenance zones. (KUB has the legal right to enter properties to work on and around power lines within a reasonable area.)

KUB prunes to maintain a minimum clearance of 10 feet around distribution lines. We do not remove established limbs above that clearance on distribution lines—unless the limbs are dead, diseased, or a risk to our lines. We do remove small limbs encroaching into the utility zone.

KUB may also remove trees, brush, and vines that threaten poles or down guy wires (or that hinder crews' safe access to them).

KUB removes all limbs above high voltage transmission lines because of their critical importance in delivering power to large numbers of customers. We also prune to a minimum 25-foot clearance around transmission lines.