Without Local Notice, Massive Prunings To Hit Malibu Trees
Written by 991KBU on February 22, 2019
Southern California Edison is hiring crews to remove tree limbs near its power lines … in Malibu.
The company has hired crews to begin implementing fire risk reduction plans ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The new rules require tree limbs to be removed if they are within 12 feet of an overhead power line.
The old rule … was six and a half feet.
Millions of trees across California will be affected.
And hundreds … if not thousands … of trees in Malibu will be getting trimmed or cut.
Southern California Edison calls the new state pruning rules “aggressive” … but the utility says it is proposing to go even beyond those aggressive rules.
SCE will inspect all trees within 200 feet of its electric facilities … and remove or prune trees that could strike the equipment.
A company spokesman says the trees that are being trimmed are far enough away from electrical equipment … that they are not covered by existing clearance requirements.
But they are close enough to present a possible threat during high winds … a company spokesman has said.
Edison says that the state allows electric utilities to do that.
And the electric company is empowered to disconnect electric service to customers who refuse to provide access to their property for the removal of trees that pose an immediate threat for contacting a power line.
Edison is on the spot.
It is getting permission to raise rates across the entire customer base by 583 million dollars …. to pay for fire risk reduction efforts like tree trimming in its high fire risk areas.
But to do that … it has to cut trees that threaten to cause power line failures … and fires.
