Vegetation management

Yes. If you require a tree to be cleared from the vegetation no go zone, you can apply to have United Energy do so, by submitting a vegetation no go zone request. You will then receive a quote for works to be carried out. Costs may vary significantly depending on the amount of work and the equipment required. United Energy use suitably trained and qualified people who utilise specialised equipment to carry out this work.

United Energy clears vegetation from our electrical assets to the distance required by electricity safety regulations, and we pay for this work. In a lot of cases, however, the no go zone distance is greater than the clearance distance United Energy is required to maintain. If this is the case for your work, the cost of clearing the vegetation will be charged to you.

Working near live powerlines is dangerous, and the electricity safety regulator has created the no go zone to keep workers safe. It is a safety requirement that only workers that are authorised by United Energy can complete work within the no go zone. These workers are suitably trained and qualified people who utilise specialised equipment to carry out this work. It is illegal and dangerous for anyone else to carry out work within the no go zone. Please refer to the no go zone diagram for further information.

Working near live powerlines is dangerous, and the electricity safety regulator has created the no go zone to keep workers safe. It is a safety requirement that only workers that are authorised by United Energy can complete work within the no go zone. These workers are suitably trained and qualified people who utilise specialised equipment to carry out this work. It is illegal and dangerous for anyone else to carry out work within the no go zone. Please refer to the no go zone diagram for further information.

Council permits may be required. It is the responsibility of the property owner to apply for the relevant council permits before United Energy commence work. We recommend contacting your local council directly before submitting a request.

Timeframes will vary depending on the nature of works to be carried out and the current volume of requests in the queue – more information will be supplied once you have lodged a request.

Trees and other large plants risk causing faults and fires around electricity assets.  We take your safety and the security of your electricity supply seriously and need to ensure that our electrical assets are operating properly. To do this we have an obligation to clear any vegetation that may pose a risk.

The Electricity Safety Act, including the introduction of the Electrical Safety (Electric Line Clearance) regulations in 2015, requires us to meet certain minimum standards with regards to our vegetation management plans.

Typically in urban areas United Energy is only responsible for private trees.

The trees on nature strips and median strips are mostly managed by council. If you have any questions or feedback regarding these trees, you'll need to contact council.

Our annual cutting schedule is determined by regulatory obligations, vegetation growth, and other factors. Typically, you will receive a physical notification between 14 and 60 days prior to cutting on or near your property unless the cutting is deemed to be urgent. In that case, we may need to cut before we can notify you to ensure that we maintain a safe and secure network.

We use Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology – laser imaging – to take photos of our powerlines and other assets. These images can show how close a piece of vegetation is to our poles and wires. These photos are put into our vegetation management system and cutting is then prioritised based on need and location.

We employ our own arborists and contract with specialist firms who are subject matter experts at cutting vegetation to meet our regulatory obligations and to ensure the health of the trees.

We have to maintain certain minimum distances to ensure that even as trees and vegetation grow back, they don’t pose ongoing risk to the electrical assets they are near. Once we have cut the vegetation to be safe, you can conduct further trimming for aesthetic purposes.

It’s a separate crew that collects debris than the team that trims because different machinery is required for each job. We try our best to make sure that any debris from trimming is stored out of the way until we can return to collect it and typically field crews are able to collect debris within 10 days from the time of cutting.

If you feel that the required time between cutting and collection has passed, please get in contact with us and we’ll organise collection of the debris as soon as possible

We’ve compiled a handy guide to help you when planning for private or public garden spaces. Some good first tips are:

• Place low growing species near to powerlines and taller ones further away
• Trees need to be planted far enough away from powerlines that if they fall they won’t hit the lines
• The width of your plant is also important – ensure you allow 3 metres between the powerline and the widest part of the tree.