Trees near powerlines in rural areas and on the urban fringe of the ACT would have to be cut back to a much greater degree – in some cases to seven metres away from the line – in a new proposal from ActewAGL.
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Homeowners across Canberra would also be responsible for clearing trees and shrubs away from power poles as well as power lines under proposed new guidelines.
ActewAGL is pushing for the much stricter clearance limits in rural areas and in the bushfire abatement zone, on the urban fringe. In some cases the current limit is of two metres would be extended to seven.
The utility company, which owns and operates 2400km of overhead electricity lines, conducted consultation around the changes last year and early this year and is expected to put a firm proposal to the government within the next couple of months. It was expected more consultation would be conducted by the government before a final decision.
It says the proposed amendment to the the Utility Networks (Public Safety) Regulation 2001 (Regulation) is to reduce the bushfire risk to the ACT and to protect the community and its assets.
When trees and other vegetation touch powerlines, they can cause sparking and blackouts.
The new proposal does not change the current clearance limits in urban areas where homeowners must keep vegetation at least 1.5m from the powerlines and also allow for a 0.5 regrowth before the next inspection.
An ActewAGL spokesman said one change for urban homeowners was to clear vegetation 1.5m around the base of a power pole and 1.5m right up and down the length of the pole
to improve access for crews.
ActewAGL works delivery branch manager Clinton McAlister said there had been "a mixed view" expressed in the public consultation about the proposed changes. The company would take account of the consultation before putting its final proposals, he said.
"There's an understanding that increased clearances can result in fewer blackouts and interruptions to customers but we need to be very mindful of the need to balance the other view as well where we have a very pretty town and streetscape and any cutting back of trees can potentially damage that perception," Mr McAlister said.
The main changes relate to the rural area and the bushfire abatement zone which surrounds Canberra and extends west towards the Murrumbidgee River.
In rural areas, they generally mean cutting back trees an extra 50cm to 1 metre from the lines and then cutting back another 1 metre to account for regrowth between cutting cycles. The changes are more dramatic in the bushfire abatement zone, where trees and other vegetation will have to be cut back an extra 1.5 metres to 3 metres and then another 2 metres for regrowth. So trees near high-voltage lines in the bushfire abatement zone would have to have a 5 metre cutting distance from each conductor plus a 2 metre regrowth allowance totaling 7 metres. The current requirement is for a 2-metre cutting distance.
"All of these requirements really come back to the base parameters of ensuring ActewAGL maintains a safe and reliable electricity network," Mr McAlister said.
He explained that in any given year, ActewAGL inspected one-third of Canberra homes with powerlines on their property to ensure they were not encroaching the vegetation clearance guidelines.
It had been using helicopter inspections for the last four years which had dramatically reduced the number of on-the-ground inspections, by ruling out those properties which did not have any assets at all on their property and those which did not have encroachments.
"By using the helicopters, we've been able to target where we actually send our inspectors and take photographs .. .and then start that notification process with the owner," he said.
Mr McAlister said in 2015, inspectors had to visit 40 per cent of homes to look at encroachments and early indications this year was that it would be 35 per cent.
The helicopters flew 40 to 45 hours over a couple of weeks and patrolled 1800km of powerlines.
"If you were actually putting physical resources on the ground to actually access people's backyards, it would take a significantly longer period of time," Mr McAlister said.
Homeowners are urged to use accredited specialists to remove the trees and can be fined if they attempt to cut back the trees and vegetation when they are already too close to the powerlines.
"I really need to emphasise that attempting to do it yourself is extremely dangerous and is actually unlawful," he said.
