Trees & Power Lines
Power line safety near trees:
Never attempt to trim a tree close to or touching a power line.
During a power outage caused by a storm, it may be necessary for us to remove trees or limbs that have fallen on power lines.
Storm / Emergency Debris Policy:
Because of the urgent nature of emergency work, crews will not clean up any debris following storms or emergency work. Removal of all debris is the responsibility of the property owner.
Planned Maintenance Debris Policy:
- Brush will be removed and chipped by crews. Block wood will be stacked and left on site.
Access to your property:
TNMP employees and contractors may need to access your property to trim trees or perform other work to repair or prevent power outages.
We will attempt to contact you before entering your property, but it may be necessary - particularly during an outage or an emergency - to begin work on your property before alerting you.
Section 5.4.8 of TNMP's retail delivery service tariff, which is approved by the state Public Utility Commission, provides further details. Download TNMP's tariffs.
Tree Planting:
- Know where underground lines are located before planting a tree, shrub or garden plant.
- Call before you dig to arrange for underground utility lines to be located and marked.
- Select the right tree for the location
- For a list of utility-friendly tree species, click here: https://www.tnmp.com/about-us/environmental
- Mature trees must be at least 15 feet from power lines.
- Plant trees 10 feet or more from underground pad-mount transformers (green boxes sometimes seen in residential areas).
- Tree roots can interfere with underground utilities.
- For a list of utility-friendly tree species, click here: https://www.tnmp.com/about-us/environmental
- Remove tall growing trees and replant with low-growing varieties to prevent future problems.
What you can do:
- Prune trees on your property long before they grow enough to get near power lines.
- If they are near power lines, don't trim them yourself - call us.
- If you want to trim or remove a tree that is close to or interfering with service wires (the electric wires that go from the pole to your house), call us at 888-866-7456 at least 24 hours in advance.
- We will, at no charge, temporarily disconnect your service.
Wood chips
TNMP offers free wood chips to our customers. Call us to request some.
TNMP Storm Debris Policy: Storm debris including branches, limbs and block wood will be left on site and will be the responsibility of the homeowner / tenant. This policy is consistent with industry standards. As your transmission and distribution electric service provider, it is our responsibility to get the power back on by any means necessary.