‘Tis the season…for tree trimming

by Shayna Decker | Dec. 9, 2020

While many may be starting to bring in a tree to decorate, now is also a good time to take a quick look outside at any trees on your property that may need a trim.

Recent gusty and wet weather has resulted in an uptick of tree-related outages on the islands we serve, and it’s one of the top causes of outages. These service interruptions typically occur when branches make contact with nearby power lines, or even larger limbs — and sometimes entire trees — fall and bring down spans of lines and utility poles.

As we experience more blustery conditions this time of year, wind-blown trees can also damage the service line to your home by rubbing away the weather-protective coating on the line, and potentially affecting the power connection to your house.

To help prevent any service interruptions, homeowners are responsible for inspecting trees on their property and for hiring qualified contractors to clear the trees that are in contact with or close to power lines or the service line to the home.

If you see any trees on your property coming close to power lines or brushing against your service line, for your safety, please contact us first before conducting any kind of work on the trees. We’ll inspect the lines and help determine the best course of action. Our Hawaiian Electric staff, upon request, can also assist by de-energizing and lowering your service line.

When inspecting trees on your property near overhead power lines, use caution because trees can conduct electricity. Keep this in mind:

• Avoid touching overhead power lines, either directly or indirectly.
• If you see something caught in a power line, do not try to free it. Call our trouble line for help. If someone has received an electric shock from being too close to a power line, call 9–1–1 for immediate assistance.
• Keep yourself and any ladder, tool, pole or fruit picker at least 10 feet away from power lines.
• Damage to the service line caused by your trees is your responsibility.
• As a condition of electric service to your home, Hawaiian Electric workers must be provided access to your property for maintenance of our facilities at all reasonable times.

For more landscaping safety guidelines, check out our Right Tree, Right Place brochure and ensure your holiday season is safe, merry and bright.

Shayna Decker is a communications manager at Hawaiian Electric.