Tree Trimming & Vegetation Management
Logan County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) maintains a proactive right-of-way (ROW) program to keep power lines clear, protect public safety, prevent outages, and reduce storm damage. Trees are one of the leading causes of power interruptions, so regular trimming is essential to reliable electric service.
How We Maintain the ROW
- LCEC crews perform line clearance work throughout the year.
- Concentrated vegetation management is also performed by Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance, working on behalf of the Cooperative.
- Work follows professional arborist standards (ANSI A300), using directional pruning whenever possible to guide tree growth away from power lines.
- Primary transmission and distribution lines are maintained on a 4–5 year cycle.
2026 Maintenance Areas
This year’s line clearance work will be concentrated in the following townships:
- Rushcreek Township
- Bokescreek Township
- Jefferson Township
- Perry Township
Work is scheduled to begin March 1 and continue through October in these areas. Members may see clearly identified crews working along roadsides and near service lines during this time.
Working Together: LCEC & Fitzwater
To support a proactive and effective vegetation management program, LCEC has partnered with Fitzwater Tree and Lawn Care (Fitzwater Outdoor Maintenance) to perform concentrated tree trimming throughout our service territory. Fitzwater crews will focus on:
- Clearing trees and brush along rights-of-way
- Maintaining proper clearance around primary distribution and transmission lines
- Reducing vegetation-related outages and storm damage
- Supporting LCEC’s goal of maintaining 99.98% system reliability
Members may see Fitzwater crews working along roadsides, in rights-of-way, and near power lines. All crews will be clearly identified.
LCEC employees work closely with Fitzwater to ensure safe, efficient, and consistent results. LCEC crews support vegetation management efforts by:
- Performing necessary work during the off-season
- Responding to emergencies
- Working ahead of contractor crews to prepare work areas and assess vegetation needs
- This coordinated approach allows LCEC to provide reliable electric service while maintaining high safety and quality standards.
How Trees Are Trimmed
Our goal is to trim trees so they will not interfere with power lines until the next trimming cycle.
Clearance standards include approximately:
- 10 feet around single-phase distribution lines
- 15 feet around three-phase distribution lines
To ensure good trimming practices are followed, LCEC follows recommendations by the International Society of Arboriculture’s American National Standards Institute A300 2008 Tree-Pruning standard. This includes directional trimming, which removes the branches that are growing toward the power lines. This practice protects tree health while directing future growth away from the power lines.
Only trees that are in the primary distribution or transmission lines will be trimmed. Trees that interfere with service wires (wires from utility poles to the member’s house or building) will not normally be trimmed or removed. Arrangements can be made to have these wires temporarily removed to permit the property owner or contractor to trim or remove the tree.
Planting Trees
When planting a tree on your property, consider the future impact that may exist if power lines are present. Questions should be directed to the Logan County Cooperative office, 937-592-4781.
NOTE: when planting near underground power lines, always call DigSafe at 811 so your utility companies can mark any underground lines. DigSafe is free and it’s the law.
Trees add beauty to our community, but tree limbs and power lines are not a good combination. LCEC distribution lines carry our members’ electricity and must be kept clear to protect their safety and keep their electric service reliable. By trimming trees, LCEC reduces safety hazards and electrical outages.
Trees are a common cause of blinks and outages - especially when severe weather hits. In addition, tree limbs that extend into power lines pose a significant risk to public safety. Anyone climbing a tree with branches that are intertwined with power lines can come into contact with the wires and be seriously injured.
Our crews, both Cooperative employees and contractors, trim trees around our primary transmission and distribution lines on a four (4) to five (5) year cycle.
Trees that are in the primary transmission and distribution lines, and trees that pose a threat to public safety and power interruptions will given our highest priority to be trimmed.
Trees that interfere with service wires (wires from utility poles to the customer's house or building) will also be trimmed or removed by the cooperative. Please call the office if your trees are in the service wire and a member of the operations team will meet with you to make arrangements to have your line cleared.
The goal is to trim the tree back so that it will not interfere with the power lines until the next trimming cycle.
Around our high-voltage lines, clearance would be approximately 15 feet.
Members who refuse to allow Logan County Electric Cooperative to trim trees to a 3-4 year cycle may incur charges for out-of-cycle tree clearance.
At a customer's request, we will consider removing a tree if it interferes with a primary transmission or distribution line, and if removing it will eliminate the need for future trimming.
We will not remove a tree without the property owner's permission. If a tree is dead, dying, diseased, storm-damaged or is likely to be severely deformed by trimming, we will suggest it be removed. If the tree being removed is dead or dying it shall be the responsibility of the homeowner to clean up debris. The responsibilities of the homeowner and the Cooperative will be discussed and agreed upon prior to work being done.
Wood chips are available to members if a crew is working in their neighborhood. If you're interested in obtaining wood chips, contact Member Services at 937-592-4781.
We are granted permission to trim trees under membership and easement agreements with the members we serve. We are not interested in trimming beyond what is necessary for public safety and reliability of electrical service.
- Applicant grants to the Cooperative the right and easement over any part of the premises described below to install, operate, maintain, repair and remove any part of the Cooperative’s electric and/or communication system to properly maintain the supply of service, and to do all things incidental or necessary thereto, including, without limitation, cutting, trimming and controlling the growth of vegetation that may interfere with or threaten to endanger the operation and maintenance of said system.
The member shall grant to the Cooperative and the Cooperative will maintain easement and/or right-of-way according to its specifications with the right to cut, trim and control the growth of vegetation using mechanical or chemical methods within the easement and/or right-of-way or that may interfere with or threaten to endanger the operation or maintenance of the Cooperative’s electric facilities.
The minimum easement width, which may include existing road right of way, shall be as follows:
Overhead Three Phase Primary 15’
Underground Three Phase Primary 10’
Overhead Single Phase Primary 10’
Underground Single Phase Primary 10’
Overhead Three Phase Secondary 10’
Underground Three Phase Secondary 10’
Plant the right tree in the right place.
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