Tree touching power lines in Texas, United States: who is responsible
Oncor and AEP Texas, two electric delivery companies in Texas, publish tree pages that say what they trim and what stays with the property owner. Chapter 752 of the Texas Health and Safety Code sets a six-foot rule for work near high voltage lines. This page reports what those sources 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 10, 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 the pages of two delivery companies and one statute chapter. It does not cover CenterPoint Energy, Texas-New Mexico Power, municipal utilities or electric cooperatives, and no Public Utility Commission of Texas page on trees was opened for this page. Other states have their own rules.
What Oncor says it does
The Oncor page Vegetation Management says the company works with qualified vegetation management professionals and uses natural target pruning, also called directional pruning, to keep clearance from high-voltage lines. It says trimming from one pole to another must be done by Oncor, that pruning does not happen near cable TV or phone lines, and that a certified arborist is assigned to each group of crews. Dead, diseased or hazardous trees are evaluated for removal case by case, and the page says stump grinding and root removal are generally not included.
| Question | What the Oncor page says |
|---|---|
| Clearance | A minimum of 10 feet is cleared from all high-voltage primary distribution lines, overhang included, with cuts taken to a proper lateral. At least 7 feet is cleared around open wire secondaries, and vegetation is cleared to 3 to 5 feet from neutrals and wrapped secondaries. |
| Notice | A door hanger card goes up before planned maintenance trimming. The owner need not be present, and the page says Oncor will strive to schedule around an owner who wants to be home. |
| Cost | Routine maintenance is performed as part of the existing rate structure. Trimming of wires from a pole to a house needs a private arborist. |
| Extra trimming | Any additional trimming, such as for looks, is handled by a private arborist at the owner's expense. |
| Service line | The page lists service drop lines among those customers maintain. It says a retail electric provider or Oncor at 888.313.6862 can arrange a temporary disconnect and reconnect, and that there is a nominal charge for this. |
| Routine debris | Oncor removes the tree debris its crews create in manicured areas during routine maintenance. Along transmission rights of way debris may be left to decompose. |
| Storm debris | For a tree that lands on lines, Oncor prunes the portion needed to restore service but does not remove the tree or debris it did not create. When a tree falls without affecting lines, the page says removal of the tree and debris is the property owner's responsibility. After major storms debris removal may take up to several weeks. |
| Hazard report | The page gives 888.313.6862 for reporting a tree near lines that could cause a hazardous condition such as sparking, and says to call 911 for fire or sparking. |
On what gives it the right to prune, the same page lists city franchises, the state utility code, the state tariff, the Public Utility Regulatory Act, which it says requires clearances per the National Electric Safety Code, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation standard for transmission lines. For transmission lines it says its easements typically grant the right to enter private property and remove trees and other obstructions in line with the easement terms.
What AEP Texas says
The AEP Texas page Reliability and Tree Trimming says one of the most common causes of power outages is tree limbs falling across lines, and describes a program to manage trees and brush around lines, with separate guidelines for tree clearing and right-of-way maintenance on high-voltage transmission lines. It points to two company brochures, one on line clearing and one on transmission right-of-way clearing and maintenance. The page sets out no clearance distances.
The AEP Texas page Report Tree Problem says the forestry team inspects a reported tree and either speaks to the owner or leaves a door hanger with its assessment. It says the company trims or removes only trees growing too close to lines that run from pole to pole, and does not trim trees threatening the service drop, the line from its pole to the house, which it says is the property owner's responsibility. For a service drop job it gives 877-373-4858 and asks for at least two business days before the work so a crew can temporarily disconnect the service line.
What Texas law says
Chapter 752 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, on high voltage overhead lines, defines high voltage as more than 600 volts. Section 752.004 says a person or firm may not perform a function or activity where it is possible that the person, or any part of a tool, equipment, machine or material, could come within six feet of a high voltage overhead line, unless the danger of contact is guarded against as section 752.003 sets out. It also says an employer may not require an employee to do work prohibited that way. Section 752.003 says a person responsible for temporary work closer than that must notify the line operator at least 48 hours before it begins, that work may not start until both sides have negotiated a satisfactory arrangement such as de-energizing and grounding, moving the line or temporary barriers, and that the person responsible pays the operator's actual expense.
Section 752.002 says the chapter does not apply to construction, operation or maintenance of overhead lines by an authorized person for an electric transmission or distribution system. Section 752.007 makes a violation an offense, punishable by a fine of not less than US$100 and not more than US$1,000, confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both. Section 752.008 makes a violator liable to the line owner or operator for all damages to its facilities and for liability the owner or operator incurs if the violation results in contact. Oncor's page says that, per Texas state law, only line clearance-certified personnel approved by Oncor are authorized to work, themselves or with equipment, within 6 feet of high-voltage lines, and adds that Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements say non-certified personnel should stay a minimum of 10 feet away.
What the sources leave out
The pages read give no Texas rule that fixes which party clears a tree on private land, and no clearance distance for the tree owner other than those above. They do not say who pays when a private tree falls on a service drop.
Who to call
- Oncor, vegetation management page: a tree near lines that could cause sparking (888.313.6862) or a temporary disconnect of a service line, per the company
- AEP Texas, report a tree problem page: a tree near its lines or a service drop disconnect before tree work, per the company