Tree touching power lines in Pennsylvania, United States: who is responsible
PPL Electric Utilities and Duquesne Light each publish pages that put the wire from the pole to the building on the property owner's side. PPL also publishes a brochure on its high-voltage rights of way. This page reports what those pages say.
This page is for tree owners. It reports what the named sources say and is not advice about your tree: for that, ask a qualified arborist or one of the offices under Who to call.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
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 Pennsylvania's other electric utilities, and no Pennsylvania statute or Public Utility Commission rule was opened for this page. Other states have their own rules.
PPL Electric Utilities
The PPL page Line Clearing splits its lines into groups and says what it does for each.
| Line | What the page says |
|---|---|
| Distribution, pole to pole | PPL maintains vegetation near these wires year-round and on a cycle, using ISA-certified foresters, qualified tree contractors and directional pruning. The page gives approximately 28,000 miles of overhead distribution lines across 29 counties. |
| Service lines | These carry electricity from PPL's poles to the building. PPL does not trim trees near this wire. The page says the property owner is responsible for the area between the pole and the house and for any tree trimming there. PPL asks for a call at 1-800-342-5775 before pruning or removing trees around it, and says it will de-energize the service wire so the work can be done safely. |
| Communication lines | PPL does not maintain these. The page names the local cable or telephone company as the contact. |
| Transmission | Approximately 5,000 miles. Rights of way are managed for low-growing compatible vegetation using a wire zone and a border zone. Where a hazard tree sits outside the right of way, PPL says it works with property owners in advance. |
The PPL brochure Transmission Line Vegetation Management says the area directly under the wires plus an additional 10 feet is the wire zone and the rest of the right of way is the border zone. It says PPL cuts down hazard trees near the right of way at no cost to the property owner, and that an owner who declines removal could be liable for the cost of repairs to the line if the tree damages it. It says the work depends on the specific rights PPL holds for each property, and gives 1-800-342-5775 to schedule a meeting.
Duquesne Light
The Duquesne Light page Trees and Power Lines says its right-of-way maintenance program keeps 6,500 miles of overhead power lines clear of vegetation. It says it promotes trees and shrubs that will not grow tall enough to interfere with lines, and describes utility-compatible species as growing less than 25 feet.
- Service drop: the page says trees on or near service-drop wires are the responsibility of the property owner and may require work by a qualified line clearance tree professional.
- Federal regulations: the page says they require only qualified professionals to work within 10 feet of energized electrical equipment.
- Wood: the company hauls away branches and limbs and leaves remaining wood in manageable pieces for the customer, and describes a referral network of vetted professionals for help with leftover wood.
- Storms: after a vegetation-related outage, line-clearance professionals clear vegetation hindering access to restore power, and the property owner is responsible for cleaning up and disposing of the debris.
The page gives 888-393-7100 for questions about tree planting or maintenance and for discussing a work plan near power lines.
What the sources leave out
The two utilities give no common clearance distance beyond the 10 feet tied to federal rules and PPL's wire zone, and neither page cites a Pennsylvania statute.
Who to call
- PPL Electric Utilities, 1-800-342-5775: work near service wires, outages and downed wires in the PPL area
- Duquesne Light, 888-393-7100: tree planting or maintenance questions and work plans near power lines