[mreynolds]

Here they cut trees back so there is no possibility of them landing on power lines. We have big trees too

Here they cut trees back so there is no possibility of them landing on power lines. We have big trees too

Where? I own property up your way and I don't see that happening very much.

 

[Redlands Okie]

That’s funny. In a lot of places, if not most, the right-of-way is cleared down to the ground... and it’s still not the end of “it”.

I cited trees in our area that routinely make 100’+. How big do you think the RoW is... or want it to be?

Good point, apparently need some bigger right of ways.

 

[HDRider]

Where? I own property up your way and I don't see that happening very much.

I am in Clay county. They will cut fences to gain access. I can't speak for the whole state. They don't use that helicopter buzz saw thing. They use a circular saw on a hydraulic pole with an all wheel drive high boy kind of thing.

 

[mreynolds]

I am in Clay county. They will cut fences to gain access. I can't speak for the whole state. They don't use that helicopter buzz saw thing. They use a circular saw on a hydraulic pole with an all wheel drive high boy kind of thing.

That's what they use here too.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Here they cut trees back so there is no possibility of them landing on power lines. We have big trees too

Are you talking about transmission lines or distribution lines? The transmission lines I’ve seen all across the country usually have a completely “tree-safe” RoW, but those lines are TALL and the RoW something like 150-200ft wide. Distribution lines are much lower, and usually only have a 20-30ft RoW, and that’s split between the two sides.

I realize that rules vary with locale, most RoW trimming I’ve seen is either low trees growing in the RoW, or tall branches that encroach on the RoW. Most lines that run through areas with mature trees are at risk, from spot to spot, by trees that, if they fell over in the direction of the line or the pole, could break the service.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Good point, apparently need some bigger right of ways.

You can always start with your property.

It shouldn’t cost you much to send a surveyor to the county courthouse and cede a bigger lane of your property to the power company. And, if they don’t send someone out to clean up the additional 100ft or so that you gave them, it probably won’t cost you too much to pay someone to come out and do it for you.

Be the change you seek.

 

[barnbilder]

Trees are stupid. What kind of freak defends trees. (Probably from California) Trees are a horrible idea. But dang if they aren't a money maker, idiots with trees pay people to cut on them every few years. You can use two squirts of roundup, or pay a guy thousands of dollars, makes no difference to the guy you are paying thousands of dollars. Trees rot shingles, trees cause gutters to fail, trees rot structural members, trees bust DWS lines, trees fall and cause power outages, trees fall through roofs, trees fall on cars, trees block roads, trees cause fires, create wildlife egress to houses, create food for wildlife that causes property damage and loss of life through vehicle strikes. For every good reason to have a tree in a suburban area, there are ten to cut it off even with the ground. But people will still have trees, plant trees, and pay people to trim trees and cry about power outages, clogged gutters and smashed cars. Insurance companies should seriously charge people for trees if they don't already, the crazy thing is, people are so stupid, they actually think a giant tree adds to the property value.

 

[GunMonkeyIntl]

Trees are stupid. What kind of freak defends trees. (Probably from California) Trees are a horrible idea. But dang if they aren't a money maker, idiots with trees pay people to cut on them every few years. You can use two squirts of roundup, or pay a guy thousands of dollars, makes no difference to the guy you are paying thousands of dollars. Trees rot shingles, trees cause gutters to fail, trees rot structural members, trees bust DWS lines, trees fall and cause power outages, trees fall through roofs, trees fall on cars, trees block roads, trees cause fires, create wildlife egress to houses, create food for wildlife that causes property damage and loss of life through vehicle strikes. For every good reason to have a tree in a suburban area, there are ten to cut it off even with the ground. But people will still have trees, plant trees, and pay people to trim trees and cry about power outages, clogged gutters and smashed cars. Insurance companies should seriously charge people for trees if they don't already, the crazy thing is, people are so stupid, they actually think a giant tree adds to the property value.

You’re absolutely right.

While we’re on the topic, all houses should be concrete boxes, stacked tightly together for maximum efficiency.

You go first. I swear I’m coming. I just need to watch these pesky trees to make sure they don’t catch a wild hare and knock out someone’s power for a day or two. As soon as you all are nestled in your concrete boxes, I’ll chop them all down and be right along.

 

[emdeengee]

The mess of the Texas grid is not new - it is a long ignored problem.

56 percent of Texas' energy comes from natural gas, just under 24 percent comes from wind, 19 percent from coal, and almost 9 percent from nuclear energy.

The US is the biggest producer of natural gas in the world and Texas the star state for production. Because of this climate crisis the all the production of electricity failed including that supplied by natural gas. Canada is right now sending huge amounts of natural gas to Texas and other states and sending more electricity to the eastern seaboard from Quebec and Ontario. Could this be a more ridiculous situation for Texas? We are going to have even worse storms in the future with bitter cold. Wind turbines and natural gas plants do not fail in Canada, other cold countries and even in many US states because the increased use of electricity with more population and the reality of climate change has been acknowledged and the grid has been expanded, strengthened, protected and especially winterized.

 

[Mothership95]

I knew it. I just said to my family this morning, "I’m not sure how it all works and how decisions are made (maybe I need to find out), but in my opinion, we’re going to have to watch our state gov’t and ERCOT like a hawk. I can see them trying to use this event as an excuse to link TX power grids up to other states and cede the power to the federal government. Like, “we can share our power with the rest of the country when they need it and they can share theirs with us” but the federal gov’t decides who’ll get it and when. And they’ll use it as a bargaining tool for forcing us to accept their agendas. Sort of like how we send our school tax money to the feds and they parcel it out back to us as long as we toe the line. Or, closer to home, our counties send our fuel taxes to the state and THEY decide which roads will be fixed. And, surprise! It ain’t OUR roads that get fixed."

I will fight with everything I have to keep TX from joining any kind of, or any further federal regulation over our power grid.

 

[HDRider]

Are you talking about transmission lines or distribution lines?

Here, both.

 

[Mothership95]

Couldn’t agree more!

 

[HDRider]

I think what drove our level of attention to power lines was the worst ice storm in recent Arkansas history in 2009, second only to the dreadful ice storm of 2000. The grip of the ice caused $80 million in damage throughout the state, and life ground to a halt for a short time.

I don't know if the a literal fact, but I was told every wooden distribution power pole was broken and replaced in our county.

 

[Alice In TX/MO]

"We are going to have even worse storms in the future with bitter cold."

While you are gazing into the crystal ball, can you give us the dates, too? That way, we can have all the preps ready just in time.

 

[Redlands Okie]

You can always start with your property.

It shouldn’t cost you much to send a surveyor to the county courthouse and cede a bigger lane of your property to the power company. And, if they don’t send someone out to clean up the additional 100ft or so that you gave them, it probably won’t cost you too much to pay someone to come out and do it for you.

Be the change you seek.

I already have. Not a single tree on the place that will hit any of the approximately 1000 feet of power line next to or through the place. I keep it that way. Not to long ago a phone call to the local utility company got the tree issues near the power lines cleared, once again, as they have in the past, for FREE. It’s part of what our bills pay for. We do get ice storms here in north central Oklahoma fairly often. It’s easy to make a call every few years if the routine maintenance by the utility companies have not already got to us.

 

[HDRider]

I already have. Not a single tree on the place that will hit any of the approximately 1000 feet of power line next to or through the place. I keep it that way. Not to long ago a phone call to the local utility company got the tree issues near the power lines cleared, once again, as they have in the past, for FREE. It’s part of what our bills pay for. We do get ice storms here in north central Oklahoma fairly often. It’s easy to make a call every few years if the routine maintenance by the utility companies have not already got to us.

Same thing here. I had a tree I thought could hit the wire. They came out and took care of it.

 

[melli]

The US is the biggest producer of natural gas in the world and Texas the star state for production. Because of this climate crisis the all the production of electricity failed including that supplied by natural gas. Canada is right now sending huge amounts of natural gas to Texas and other states and sending more electricity to the eastern seaboard from Quebec and Ontario. Could this be a more ridiculous situation for Texas?

I read that today, in the news. Alberta is sending NG to Texas.

TC Energy sending record natural gas shipments to freezing Texas

CEO Francois Poirier said the company’s employees in Texas kept the pipelines flowing despite 'trying personal circumstances'

financialpost.com

That does seem odd, considering one can see several oil/gas basins in Texas, from space!

 

[Alice In TX/MO]

Some of the natural gas pumping stations had electrical devices that were disabled by the power outages.

 

[mreynolds]

I already have. Not a single tree on the place that will hit any of the approximately 1000 feet of power line next to or through the place. I keep it that way. Not to long ago a phone call to the local utility company got the tree issues near the power lines cleared, once again, as they have in the past, for FREE. It’s part of what our bills pay for. We do get ice storms here in north central Oklahoma fairly often. It’s easy to make a call every few years if the routine maintenance by the utility companies have not already got to us.

You have trees in oklahoma?

 

[barnbilder]

That’s absurd.
I don’t know where you live, but, here, our oaks, poplars and hickories grow 80 to 120 ft tall. The power company does clean up threatening branches along the right-of-way, but what you’re suggesting would leave the suburban neighborhoods without a mature tree in sight.

Around here our oaks hickories and poplars can grow 81 to 120.5 feet tall. And if you cut them back to the stump within the right of way, and run the skidders and helicopters with the boom cutters up the edges of the right away, ice loads or wind loads will pull trees away from the line, because the center of gravity will favor that side. Maintained right of ways perform much better than unmaintained ones. Sure you will have people fight the utility companies over spraying and cutting trees, but let them freeze to death a few times and they will stop that.