Vegetation Clearance Zones and Responsibilities
Who was involved in setting the rules for vegetation clearance?
The Powerline and Vegetation Committee set out the vegetation management policy in 1994. This committee included representatives from a broad range of stakeholder groups including residents’ organisations, local government and the Bushfires Board of WA. It set minimum clearances for safety and designated responsibilities for the management of different types of trees in different circumstances. The policy developed by this committee is statewide.
Who is responsible for tree trimming and vegetation removal?
Horizon Power regularly inspects powerlines to identify where trees and vegetation are growing too close.
It is property residents' responsibility to trim trees on your property, even if you are a tenant.
Local councils are responsible for trimming trees on urban street verges and road reserves.
The following diagram sets out who is responsible for tree trimming in a range of circumstances.
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As a part of their duties, Horizon Power's crews and tree-trimming contractors can issue a notice giving a property resident 30 days to trim or remove vegetation. A further inspection is undertaken at the conclusion of that period and if no action has been taken in accordance with the notice, a seven day warning is issued. If the offending vegetation or branches remain at the conclusion of the second notice, the crew or contractor is required to trim or remove it. This work is then charged back to the responsible property resident. Residents will be responsible for removing the debris.
Who should trim your trees?
Trimming or removing trees that are close to powerlines can be extremely dangerous.
If a branch or ladder comes into contact with the powerlines, anyone touching the tree risks an electric shock — even if they are just climbing it or trimming trees around it.
Horizon Power strongly recommends you hire a professional tree-trimming contractor to do the job. Tree-trimming contractors can be found in local business directories.
Check to make sure the contractor is trained to do the job properly and safely. They should have:
- current public-liability insurance; and
- a certificate for completing a Pruning Trees Around Power Lines course, approved by Horizon Power.
What are the clearance zones?
The minimum vegetation clearance zones in the table below is intended as a guide only, as there are a number of technical issues that determine the exact clearances. If you need detailed information on these clearance zones, please see the Guidelines for the Management of Vegetation Near Powerlines by Energy Safety.
If you have received a vegetation notice, the clearance distances specified in that notice will be the correct distances. The information below does not include clearances for transmission lines that operate at or above 66,000 volts.
| Power line type | Clearance distances |
|---|---|
| Insulated overhead service mains lines (from the powerlines to the front of your home) |
30 cm |
| Low-voltage aerial bundled cable* | 30 cm |
| High-voltage aerial bundled cable * | 1 m |
| Bare overhead mains in the street with spans (distance between poles) up to 70m | 2m |
| Bare overhead mains in the street with spans up to 70m in high-fire-risk areas | 2.5m |
| High-voltage aerial bundled cable * | 1m |
* Aerial bundled cable is a thick, black cable, consisting of three separately-insulated, intertwined strands. It looks like a large strand of liquorice.
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