Tree touching power lines in Scotland: who is responsible

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It describes the Act and the safety regulations, which the legislation site marks as extending to England, Wales and Scotland, and the pages of two network operators. Northern Ireland has its own rules and is not covered.

What the Electricity Act says

Paragraph 9 of Schedule 4 to the Electricity Act 1989 applies where a tree is, or will be, so close to an electric line or electrical plant kept installed by a licence holder that it obstructs or interferes with installing, maintaining or working the line or plant, or is an unacceptable source of danger to children or other persons. The Act says "tree" includes any shrub.

The licence holder may give notice to the occupier of the land requiring the tree to be felled or lopped, or its roots cut back, subject to paying the occupier the expenses reasonably incurred in complying.
Where the occupier is not also the owner, a copy of the notice goes to the owner.
If within 21 days of the notice its requirements are not met and neither owner nor occupier gives a counter notice, the licence holder may cause the tree to be felled or lopped, or the roots cut back.
If within 21 days the owner or occupier gives a counter notice objecting, the matter is referred to the Secretary of State unless the counter notice is withdrawn. The page carries a note recording a transfer of certain functions for Scotland on July 1, 1999, under S.I. 1999/1750. The note does not say which body now receives the referral.

The Act adds that when a licence holder uses these powers, the work is done in accordance with good arboricultural practice and so as to do as little damage as possible to trees, fences, hedges and growing crops. Felled trees, lopped boughs and root cuttings are removed in accordance with the directions of the owner or occupier, and the licence holder makes good any damage done to the land.

What the safety regulations say

The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, regulation 20A, added from October 1, 2006, says a generator or distributor shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure there is no interference with or interruption of supply caused by insufficient clearance between any of its overhead lines and a tree or other vegetation. Regulation 18(5) says no overhead line shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, come so close to any building, tree or structure as to cause danger. Both provisions are marked as extending to England, Wales and Scotland.

What SP Energy Networks says

SP Energy Networks is the distribution network operator for central and southern Scotland. Its Tree Safety page, read October 10, 2026, is addressed to anyone with trees on their land close to overhead lines. It says every year people are seriously injured and killed doing tree work near overhead lines, and that its own tree cutting staff and contractors are trained for the job. It tells people not to climb such trees or let others climb them, and not to cut near a line themselves or with their own contractor. It says an owner who thinks trees are getting too close can contact the company, which assigns a local tree cutting co-ordinator to arrange any work through its tree surgeons, and that tree cutting works on the owner's land are provided free of charge.

The company's two-page leaflet "Safety Matters: Dangers of trees near power lines", read October 10, 2026, adds more:

It says the network carries from 230 volts for homes up to 400,000 volts, and that both ends of that range are lethal.
It says the company has a legal obligation to keep trees at a safe distance from overhead lines, and names the Electricity Act 1989 and the 2002 safety regulations as amended in 2006.
It describes two cutting programmes: a safety clearance programme under ENATS 43-8, meant to keep trees far enough from lines that the public cannot climb into contact, and a network resilience programme under ETR 132, meant to reduce weather interruptions.
It says the company runs a 3 year cyclic tree cutting programme. Contractors contact the owner to agree the work, allow for growth so that trees stay clear of the safety clearance within the 3 years, and dispose of the waste as the owner wishes.
Its "industry standard safety clearance" table gives 0.5 metres for insulated conductors and 3 metres for uninsulated conductors. These are the leaflet's figures. The leaflet does not present them as a statutory distance.
It lists things that conduct electricity, including chain saws, extendable hedge cutters, ladders, kites, fishing rods, tree sap and wet branches, and says rubber boots offer no protection. It says to treat a fallen line as live and to call 105. The leaflet gives 0330 10 10 444 for general tree safety enquiries.

What SSEN says

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has an existing electricity connections page, read October 10, 2026, with a "Request tree cutting" service. It says it may not be able to carry out every tree cutting request, that its team attends to see what is needed, and that this visit is free of charge. It gives two reasons for the service: trees growing close to its overhead cables and trees growing close to its substations. The page does not name the area it covers; SSEN has a separate "Who is my distributor?" page.

What the Health and Safety Executive says

The Health and Safety Executive page working near power lines and cables, dated September 22, 2026, says anyone working within 10 m of overhead power lines should get advice from the owner of the lines, usually the network operator. It says the distance is measured at ground level horizontally from below the nearest wire. It names working with the power off as the first choice.

What the sources leave out

None of these texts sets a fee payable by the owner for the licence holder's own cutting. The Act deals with expenses reasonably incurred by the occupier. The pages read do not say who owns a tree that is on a neighbour's land or on public land, and they do not cover lines that no licence holder owns.

Credit: the Electricity Act 1989, the 2002 Regulations and the HSE page are reported from legislation.gov.uk and hse.gov.uk, which contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Who to call

SP Energy Networks, 0330 10 10 444: general tree safety enquiries and trees close to overhead lines, central and southern Scotland, per its leaflet
SSEN tree cutting request: free visit to look at trees near its overhead cables or substations, per its connections page
The network operator: the owner of the lines, for advice before work within 10 m of overhead lines, per the Health and Safety Executive