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Right-of-Way Clearing

Wake Electric maintains nearly 1,900 miles of overhead lines. Routine maintenance helps reduce the risk of outages and ensures reliable service to our members.  Storms, high winds, or lightning can send branches into power lines, causing outages and creating safety hazards. Trained contractors perform our right-of-way maintenance. Please do not approach them for safety reasons. If you have concerns, call us at 919.863.6300 or 800.474.6300.

Our Right-of-Way Program Includes:

  • Tree Pruning: Regular pruning prevents interference with power lines.
  • Hazard Tree Removal: Dead or hazardous trees are removed to prevent risks.
  • Mowing and Brush Clearing: Clearing small trees and brush along our lines to maintain access for service vehicles.
  • Herbicide Application: Herbicides are used to prevent the regrowth of woody vegetation. Spraying occurs June through September, ensuring lasting results over time.

“Plant the Right Tree in the Right Place”

Planning to plant a new tree? Choose low-growing species to avoid future interference with power lines. This will help reduce the need for pruning and ensure safety around your home.

Overhead Vegetation Management FAQ

A right-of-way is a legal corridor that allows Wake Electric to access land to install, maintain, and repair power lines and other equipment. For overhead power lines, it usually spans 30 feet (15 feet on each side of the pole) to ensure there is enough clearance for safe operation and maintenance.

Trees and vegetation are leading causes of power outages. Wind, storms, ice, or even dry conditions can bring branches into power lines, causing electrical faults or outages. Regular pruning and removal of hazard trees within the right-of-way ensures:

  • Reliability: Reduces the risk of outages.
  • Safety: Prevents dangerous situations caused by fallen trees or limbs near live power lines.
  • Storm Readiness: Helps restore power more quickly after severe weather events.

Maintaining cleared rights-of-way allows for faster restoration after storms and ensures compliance with North Carolina regulations. This work is essential to maintain Wake Electric’s safety accreditation from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

Wake Electric requires a 30-foot clearance—15 feet on each side of the power pole—along all overhead power lines. This ensures:

  • Sufficient space for line crews to access equipment safely.
  • Clearance for maintenance vehicles during outages or repairs.
  • Unimpeded delivery of electricity to your home.

We actively monitor for hazard trees that pose a risk even if they are outside the designated right-of-way. A tree that is leaning or damaged and could potentially fall into a power line will be identified for removal. Bear in mind – just because the tree isn’t currently touching power lines doesn’t mean that it can’t grow to do so before the next round of vegetation management. Members are notified if we plan to remove such trees.

Yes. Wake Electric provides advance notice to property owners when scheduled tree pruning or right-of-way clearing will take place. You may receive notifications through:

  • Door hangers
  • Phone calls or emails
  • Letters

In 1996 the Wake Electric board of directors voted to incorporate the use of herbicide in rights-of-way maintenance. By the summer of the following year, Wake was ready to start spraying. Since then, we have sprayed the line circuits that have been re-cleared in the past 12 months. We return approximately every two years to respray the circuits.

The purpose is to maintain woody stemmed vegetation so that our trucks can access our rights-of-way. Spraying occurs from the 1st of June to the end of September. So why spray instead of the old way of cutting?

According to Mr. Everett, over time spraying is cheaper. “Once you spray a tree – it doesn’t come back,” Mr. Everett said. “When you cut the tree, it ends up putting out three times as many sprouts.” Spraying has other benefits as well.

When the trees are removed, more sunlight makes it to the rights-of-way stimulating the growth of natural grasses. This, in turn, provides wildlife with more habitat and cover to make its home. Typically, Wake focuses on spraying woody-stem species. The contractors used by Wake are licensed by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture as pesticide applicators. Every chemical used by Wake is tested and approved by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.