Montréal, December 19, 2013
News
Vegetation control near the electricity distribution network: a matter of safety and service reliability
To ensure public and worker safety, prevent outages and optimize power system operation, Hydro-Québec maintains a clearance distance between its power lines and vegetation located near the distribution network, which supplies electricity to homes.
Controlling vegetation near the power system: Expert views
Controlling vegetation near the power system: Expert views
The company favors vegetation management methods that respect the natural environment and promote biodiversity close to its lines. The objective of Hydro-Québec’s work is not to eliminate all the vegetation at a given site but only the plant species that are incompatible with system or equipment reliability.
Vegetation-control work is planned by Hydro-Québec’s forestry engineers and carried out by qualified contractors hired by Hydro-Québec.
Choosing the right tree in the right place
If you plant a tree near a power line, use the “Clearance-Tree-Electricity” online tool to choose trees that don’t require pruning by Hydro-Québec. By doing so, you’ll help ensure more reliable service and make your neighborhood safer, and your tree will grow naturally.
Frequently asked questions
Vegetation control is a preventative measure to reduce the risks associated with having vegetation near the distribution network. It is essential to prevent trees from coming close to wires and causing outages or compromising worker and public safety.
The work carried out by Hydro-Québec also helps limit outages, since falling branches or trees are responsible for nearly 40% of power outages. For instance, in winter, wet snow and freezing rain significantly increase the weight of tree branches, causing fragile trees or branches to give way and fall on power lines, causing major damage and many outages. During summer, strong winds often cause vegetation to come into contact with the network, leading to outages.
Vegetation control work is carried out during annual campaigns planned by Hydro-Québec’s forestry experts. Work is cyclical, and depends on tree growth and control work done in the past. Every year, Hydro-Québec plans preventative operations on some 17,500 km of lines, 65 times the distance between Montréal and Québec.
Pruning consists of partially or completely removing branches or other parts of a tree to prevent them from touching the distribution lines. This method minimizes changes to vegetation.
By law, only Hydro-Québec or a professional tree trimmer authorized by Hydro-Québec is allowed to perform any work that might require a person, part of a tree or a tool to come within three metres of a medium-voltage line.
Contact Hydro-Québec before pruning or cutting down any tree located close to the electric network. Nothing must come within three metres of a medium-voltage line. That includes you, your tools and any part of a tree during pruning or cutting operations.