Tree & Power Line Clearance in Canberra

If you've had a notification card left in your letterbox in Macgregor, or you can see a eucalypt limb creeping toward the service line into your Weston home, the clock and the rules are both on the move. In the ACT, Evoenergy runs the electricity network, and on private property the responsibility for keeping your trees clear of the powerlines sits with you as the home owner or occupier. Tree Loppers Canberra connects ACT property owners with insured, certified arborists who work to those clearance rules — pruning branches back from service lines and powerlines on blocks across Belconnen, Gungahlin, the Woden Valley and beyond, where ageing gums and fast-growing pines are the usual culprits.

The clearance distances Evoenergy expects

Per Evoenergy's vegetation rules, most trees and vegetation must be kept clear by these minimums:

• 1 metre from a service line — the line that runs from the street to your house.
• 1.5 metres from powerlines.
• 2 metres in bushfire-prone areas and near higher-voltage lines.

To avoid trimming every season, Evoenergy recommends allowing three years of regrowth and keeping vegetation roughly 2.5 metres back. Trees that have grown past the minimum distance must be trimmed by an accredited arborist trained to work near the network — not by a home owner with a pole saw.

Who is responsible — and when Evoenergy steps in

Responsibility splits along the property line. On your block, keeping trees clear is your job. Evoenergy manages vegetation around lines on unleased urban land — that covers street trees and trees in parks and reserves. If Evoenergy spots a tree on your property that's too close, they'll leave a notification card asking you to act. Home owners typically get two notifications to arrange the work before Evoenergy sends its own contractor to cut the vegetation back — and bills the cost to the home owner. Getting an accredited arborist in early keeps that in your hands.

When to call Evoenergy first

There's a clear line between trimming and danger:

• Branch near, but not touching, the line on your property? An accredited arborist can prune it back to clearance.
• Branch touching the line, or a tree down on the network? Don't go near it. Call Evoenergy on 13 23 86 to make the line safe before any tree work.

Pairs with

Clearance work often surfaces other issues — an ageing tree that's outgrown its spot may be better off as a planned tree removal, and after a storm has pushed limbs into the lines, emergency tree removal handles the immediate hazard. Where a tree comes out, stump grinding finishes the ground off.

Sort the clearance before the card turns into a bill

Rated 5.0 from 17 Google reviews, the crews work across the ACT. Tell us which lines and which trees and we'll connect you with an accredited arborist for a quote — or call (02) 6105 9285, 6:00am to 6:30pm, seven days. For anything touching the network, call Evoenergy on 13 23 86 first.