Why Does IECA Actively Manage its Right-Of-Way?
IECA's primary mission is to provide safe, reliable and reasonably priced electricity to our members. One of the biggest challenges to that mission is maintaining power lines rights-of-way. IECA operates and maintains more than 5600 miles of line through some of the most densely forested areas in Missouri. The number one reason for outages, whether during snow and ice or our fierce Missouri thunderstorms, is trees coming in contact with power lines. IECA employs a variety of strategies including: side-trimming, mowing, tree removal and vegetation management techniques in an active right-of-way management program to improve reliability and control costs.
Member Cooperation - right of way management in part depends on our members. As a locally-owned electric cooperative, we respect the rights of property owners. (We understand because we live here too.) Please remember that tree trimming and right of way maintenance is crucial to keeping the lights on for you and your neighbors.
Why It Is Important To Maintain A Clear Right-Of-Way?
In an effort to continually provide safe and reliable electricity to its members, Intercounty Electric Cooperative strives to keep electric lines clear of trees, brush, and foliage by maintaining an aggressive right-of-way program.
Our crews use several methods to keep trees and brush under control, including simple trimming, bulldozing, and, in some cases, spraying non-toxic herbicide. It is important to keep our power lines clear for several reasons, including:
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When a tree comes in contact with a power line it is very possible for a child or an adult touching or climbing that tree to receive a fatal shock injury.
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Blinking lights or outages can be frequent in easements where taller growing trees have not been cleared or trimmed.
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Taller growing trees increase the amount of time it takes to correct an outage by preventing equipment access and reducing visibility in the right-of-way. If our maintenance crews can’t see down the right-of-way they must hunt among the branches to locate the problem, which is extremely time consuming.
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Planting taller growing trees too close to power lines increases Intercounty Electric’s maintenance costs. These higher costs can eventually be reflected in your electric rates.
Intercounty Electric has Right-of-Way maintenance crews scheduled to be in your area. They will be performing routine maintenance and clearing, including the removal of trees and brush that have grown into or under co-op maintained power lines and right-of-ways.
In maintained yard areas, within co-op rights-of-way, brush will be removed and all wood other than logs may be cut into manageable lengths, unless otherwise specified.
In non-maintained areas, brush/large wood debris will be spread by brush hogging and/or shredding on cooperative maintained rights-of-way or may be piled along sides.
Danger/hazard trees located outside the rights-of-way that are a threat to the electric system (such as dying, diseased, leaning, or storm damaged trees) shall be stubbed, cut or appropriately topped to avoid outages, and clean-up will not be provided. Any further restoration/maintenance of the site will be the property owner's responsibility.
Emergency situations do not always allow us to contact a member/landowner in advance. If it is necessary to trim or cut damaged trees, they will be left in the safest manner possible. Debris clean-up after storms, accidents or emergency restoration work is the property owner's responsibility.
