Trees that grow too close to power lines can become a dangerous hazard, especially for children who might like to climb them

Branches can break and fall on to lines, especially during high winds and storms, putting public safety and property at risk as well as interrupting power supply. By working with you, Wellington Electricity can help you avoid this safety risk and help reduce the chances of a loss of you and your neighbours’ power supply.

Under the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003, the local electricity distribution company is responsible for making sure tree owners are aware of not letting their trees grow too close to network power lines. On the Wellington Electricity network, we use Treescape, a specialist tree maintenance company to check and notify tree owners if their trees are too close to our power lines.

If you receive a notice, the trees may already be too close for you to safely trim them yourself. In these cases a professional arborist (authorised by Wellington Electricity to work close to power lines) will be needed to cut back the trees to a safe distance for you to keep them trimmed.

Wellington Electricity will provide the first cut of your tree for free, but following that cut, it is the tree owner’s responsibility to ensure the tree trimming is maintained.

For more information on tree maintenance near power lines, download our tree maintenance brochure and have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.

You can also download a list of vegetation contractors who are authorised by us to work close to power lines and can help you maintain your trees.