Order New Electrical Svc from pwr co. = easement?

[MarkV]

The only issue I have had with the two existing power easements on our property is their idea of keeping the lines clear. In our area the clearing happens about every five years and is all contract work to sub contractors. It starts with a crew cutting small items by hand followed by an amazing machine that has a boom with a circular cutting blade that trims limbs way up. Sometime after that a bushhog will come and mulch anything dropped by the other crews. The final step, the one I could not handle, is to come a year later and spray a soil sterilizer on the easement so that NOTHING grows for several years. We planted our easements with field grass and keep it mowed which should keep the clearing crews off the easement according to the power company rep. Where the problem comes is that fact that all the work is done by out of area sub contractors and even when noted in our file they have not convinced me their communications will guarantee no spraying. I would check and see what the process is in your area and what can be written into the easement to clarify the term “keeping the easement clear”.

MarkV

 

[dmccarty]

DCRC,

I had to sign for an easement years ago to allow power to be run to my house site. Luckily my power company wants to put in underground utilities so they buried the line on the side of our private road. I met the engineer and we placed the flags as I wished. They went roughly 400 feet into our lot to a transformer in a green box on a concrete pad. Again, they put it as I asked. The only real issue I had was that they would only pay to go so many feet from the transformer to the service panel on the house. The most direct route would be on a side of the house that we see all the time. And I wanted the panel on the back of the house for other reasons besides cluttering up the one side. To further complicate location I wanted, the most direct route would be under the garage we will build some day. The power company does not want the cable under a building so they had to loop around the location of the future garage. Of course I had to pay for this. I never saw the bill so either they ate the charges or my builder did. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Try to find the engineer who will spec out the power to your house. If he can't put in underground utilities, ask if you can pay the difference. I really can't believe they can put in poles and lines cheaper than underground. For us they ran a good 900 feet up the road and then another 400 feet or so to the transformer. I don't think it took the crew two days to do dig the trench, I think they used conduit for the cable but I am not sure, and to bury the line. I have a gate across the road. When they first brought in power for my neighbors I talked with the engineer, same guy, and they ran conduit from the transformer serving houses below me to just under my gate. When it was time to bring in power from the transform down below to our house site, I dug down on my side of the gate so the crew could find the conduit. I figured if they did it I was going to have broken fencing. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

From my gate to the neighbors transformer is another 300 feet. So the company ran a good 1600 feet from transformer to transformer. And then another 300ish feet from my transformer to the house.

Find that engineer and be nice. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Later,
Dan