At CHEC, we strive to balance maintaining beautiful natural surroundings and ensuring a reliable power supply by keeping power lines clear in rights of way (ROW).

While we recognize and appreciate the beauty of trees, there are important benefits to tree trimming in ROW areas. A right of way is the land we use to construct, maintain, replace or repair underground and overhead power lines. Rights of way enable the co-op to provide clearance from trees and other obstructions that could hinder the power line installation, maintenance or operation. Regardless of if the ROW area is located on public land or near a business or home, CHEC must be able to maintain the power lines above and below the ROW.

Recently, CHEC contractor River City Construction cleared trees and bushes in the ROW under a section of transmission in Avon in preparation for pole replacements and reconductoring or pulling new wires. While the change to the landscape was more drastic than we had expected, the clearing was necessary for this phase of the project. We have received much feedback from the membership about this work and will do a better job of communicating about projects like this in the future, before work begins.

That being said, we are entering a new ROW contract for the distribution system this month, that will be different from how the ROW has been maintained in the past. The new contract will require distribution ROW to be trimmed three feet below the communication line and ten feet on each side of the pole. Contractors will be working in Buxton, Frisco and Hatteras under these specifications for the remainder of 2025.

The overall goal of this work is to provide power to our members while maintaining the safety, reliability and affordability of our system. Our island community is a special place. We appreciate the beauty trees afford, but we also know our community depends on us to provide reliable energy.