Tree touching power lines in Ohio, United States: who is responsible

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes two utilities' own pages. It does not cover Ohio's other electric utilities, and no Ohio statute or Public Utilities Commission rule was opened for this page. Other states have their own rules.

AEP Ohio

The AEP Ohio page Reliability and Tree Trimming says its tree crews visit a neighborhood at least every four years to look for trees or branches near distribution lines and equipment, and that its foresters, arborists and technicians follow standards of the International Society of Arboriculture, the American National Standards Institute and the Tree Care Industry Association. It gives a 93% cut in tree-related outages since starting its four-year cycle. It says the process and requirements for transmission lines differ. The site says Ohio Power Company formerly did business as AEP Ohio.

The page Report Tree Problem sets out what it will and will not do:

It says it will not trim or remove trees strictly to protect private property.
It says it does not maintain trees and brush around the service line, the line that runs from its pole to the house. If an owner hires a private tree contractor near the service line, it asks for a call to 800-672-2231 so its Customer Solutions team can schedule a crew to disconnect the line.
A non-emergency tree request goes through a form, an email to the forestry address or 614-883-6987, and the page says the team follows up on forms within 10 business days. The form asks first whether the tree interference is between poles or between a pole and the house.
Safety hazards, which the page lists as downed lines or poles, trees fallen on lines, sparking or smoking lines and exposed wires, go to 911 or 800-672-2231.

AES Ohio

The AES Ohio page What to expect says the removal of potentially dangerous limbs is mandated by Ohio and federal law, and that its trimming follows Tree Care Industry Association and International Society of Arboriculture standards and ANSI A300 Part 1. The page lists the steps:

Step	What the page says
Phone call	An automated call, typically one to two weeks before work begins on the circuit.
Door visit	A planner visits residents two to four weeks before crews begin, and leaves a door hanger with contact information if no one is home.
Trimming	Crews trim trees located a minimum of 10 feet from power lines and clear vegetation near its equipment, including low plants near poles. They will not trim trees or branches near the service line, and the page says keeping the service line clear is the property owner's responsibility.
Clean up	Debris under 4 inches in diameter is chipped. Logs over 4 inches are cut to handling length and left at the base of the tree for the owner's use.

The page Maintaining trees on your property says AES Ohio will temporarily shut off power to the service line so a tree trimmer can work safely, at no charge, and gives 937-331-4860 for scheduling a few days in advance. Its Emergency trimming page says that when unplanned trimming is needed during a storm or restoration, the company does not clean up the debris and leaves brush and wood at the property. The line clearance team can be reached at 888-582-3213.

What the sources leave out

The pages give different cycles, a four-year visit for AEP Ohio and none stated for AES Ohio. Neither cites an Ohio statute by number.

Who to call

911: downed lines, trees fallen on lines and other safety hazards, per the utility
AEP Ohio Customer Solutions Center, 800-672-2231: a service line disconnect for private tree work, and safety hazards
AES Ohio line clearance team, 888-582-3213: questions about scheduled line clearance work