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Trees Near Power Lines in Knoxville: What KUB Handles and What Falls to the Homeowner
Who prunes, who pays and who to call when a tree is growing toward a line, based on KUB's own vegetation management rules and OSHA safety guidance.
Never prune or cut near a power line yourself. If a line is down, low or smoking, or a tree is on it, stay away and call KUB at 865-524-2911 (911 if someone is hurt). This page summarizes KUB and OSHA guidance for KUB customers. It is general information, not safety-engineering advice. Last reviewed October 2026.
1. First, figure out which line it is
KUB provides electric service to Knox County and parts of seven surrounding counties. If a different utility powers your home, its rules apply instead.
Who handles the tree depends on which wire it's near:
- The service line to your house. This is the wire from the transformer to a single home. KUB doesn't prune trees around it; trees threatening it are the homeowner's responsibility.
- A secondary line serving several homes. KUB prunes to keep clearance from secondary lines that serve multiple customers.
- Several spans of secondary line serving only your home. KUB's handout puts all tree work on those spans on the customer.
- Distribution and transmission lines on poles and towers. These are in KUB's maintenance zone, covered in the next section.
Source: KUB, Electric System (service area)
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming
Source: KUB, Tree Pruning FAQ
Source: KUB, Who's Responsible for Tree Work When the Electric Lines to Your House Are Damaged? (PDF)
2. What KUB handles
- Clearance around its lines. KUB crews prune for a minimum 10-foot clearance around distribution lines and a minimum 25-foot clearance from high-voltage transmission lines, and remove all limbs above the lines. KUB may also remove trees, brush and vines within the 20-foot distribution maintenance zone.
- A three-to-four-year cycle. KUB says it takes three to four years to inspect and prune its 5,000-plus miles of overhead lines before the cycle starts over.
- Advance notice. KUB says it sends a letter at least two weeks before pruning in an area. If a tree on your property needs work, crews mark it and leave a door hanger.
- Lateral pruning, not topping. KUB uses lateral pruning, which can mean cutting back more than the minimum clearance to reach a proper cut point. KUB says it doesn't "top" or "round over" trees.
- Access. KUB says it has the legal right to enter properties to work on and around power lines within a reasonable area.
- Brush from routine pruning. KUB says brush and debris are removed within a couple of days of routine pruning.
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming: Your Options
Source: KUB, Tree Pruning FAQ
3. What falls to the homeowner
- Trees around your service line. If a tree threatens the line to your house, KUB says you can call to have the line lowered temporarily so a professional tree service can prune safely, and KUB reconnects it afterward. KUB's handout says it lowers the service line at no cost.
- Damage to the service line from your tree. If a tree or limb tears down the service line, KUB's handout says the property owner is responsible for clearing the tree and repairing damaged service equipment before KUB reconnects. See after a storm for that situation.
- Customer-owned equipment. KUB says the weatherhead, service cables and meter socket belong to the customer and calls for a qualified electrician if they're damaged.
- Stumps and wood. When KUB and a customer agree to remove a tree during the maintenance cycle, KUB cuts the tree, removes the brush and cuts the trunk into 18-inch lengths, but doesn't remove stumps, sawdust or wood. During emergency response, KUB says it can't offer cleanup or cut the trunk into lengths. See stump grinding.
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming
Source: KUB, Who's Responsible for Tree Work When the Electric Lines to Your House Are Damaged? (PDF)
Source: KUB, Electrical Service Repair: Responsibilities of KUB and Customers (PDF)
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming: Your Options
Source: KUB, Tree Pruning FAQ
4. Your options when KUB plans to prune
KUB says homeowners have the right and responsibility to take care of their landscape, and that customers have options beyond standard pruning. Call KUB Vegetation Management at 865-558-6658 as soon as you get notice. If KUB doesn't hear from you, crews proceed with standard pruning.
- Be there for it. You can ask to be present; a KUB forester will go over the work, your options and what to expect.
- Removal. During the cycle, KUB only removes trees in the maintenance zone that are dead, unhealthy or unsound and pose a risk to the lines.
- Replacement tree. If a significant tree has to come out, KUB may be able to offer a replacement tree planted where it won't interfere with utilities.
- Subordinate lateral pruning. For a healthy tree that would need heavy pruning, KUB may remove a branch over more than one cycle instead of all at once.
- Reduced clearance. For tall but slow-growing trees, KUB foresters may make an exception to the standard clearance after evaluating the tree.
- Your own contractor. You can hire a private tree service at your own expense. KUB says it must prune to KUB's minimum clearances, and that work around power lines should only be done by someone specially trained and qualified for it.
- Moving the lines. You can pay to have lines relocated or put underground. KUB notes these are expensive options.
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming: Your Options
Source: KUB, Tree Pruning FAQ
5. Why this isn't a DIY job
- It's a leading killer of tree workers. OSHA says contact with electricity is one of the leading causes of death for tree care workers, including cases where a pole saw or a cut branch that didn't fully detach touched a line.
- Ten feet, minimum. OSHA's rule for unqualified persons near overhead lines is that the person and the longest conductive object they may contact stay at least 10 feet from lines of 50 kV or less, and farther from higher-voltage lines.
- Assume it's live. OSHA and KUB both say to treat every overhead line as energized.
- Wet trees conduct. University of Maryland Extension says electricity can arc as much as ten feet to wet foliage in wet weather, and that removing limbs anywhere near power lines is never a job for the homeowner.
- Why it matters for your power. KUB says more than 50% of its outages are vegetation-related, and that a tree touching a line can give current a path to the ground.
Source: OSHA, Electricity and Tree Care Work: A Deadly Combination (OSHA 3861, PDF)
Source: OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.333 (work near overhead lines)
Source: KUB, Who's Responsible for Tree Work When the Electric Lines to Your House Are Damaged? (PDF)
Source: University of Maryland Extension, How Do You Decide When to Remove a Tree?
Source: KUB, Vegetation Management
Source: KUB, Tree Trimming
6. Planting and digging near lines
- Plan for the mature size. KUB asks you to check a tree's mature height and width and look up before planting. UMD Extension suggests trees under power lines should mature at less than 25 feet.
- Keep clear of utility equipment. KUB says not to plant within 10 feet of pad-mounted transformers or 15 feet of water and wastewater mains.
- Call 811 before digging. That includes planting a replacement or grinding a stump: notify utilities at least three business days ahead.
Source: KUB, Plant Smart
Source: University of Maryland Extension, How Do You Decide When to Remove a Tree?
Source: KUB, Call 811
7. Who to call
- Wire down, low or smoking, or a tree on a line: KUB, 865-524-2911. Call 911 if someone is hurt or touching a line.
- Pruning notices, options or a tree in the maintenance zone: KUB Vegetation Management, 865-558-6658, or trees@kub.org.
- After work on your service line is done: call KUB at 865-524-2911 or 1-800-250-8068 so service can be restored.
Source: KUB, Who's Responsible for Tree Work When the Electric Lines to Your House Are Damaged? (PDF)
Source: KUB, Utility Safety Guidelines
Source: KUB, Tree Pruning FAQ
Source: KUB, Vegetation Management
Tree near the line to your house?
Send the short form and say whether the tree is near the wire running to your house or near lines on poles along the street. A photo helps. If the tree is touching a line or a line is down, call KUB first.
Related: after a storm · emergency tree removal · tree trimming · permit guide
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