What Is Right-Of-Way?
As your electric cooperative, it is our responsibility to maintain over 3,000 miles of power line and to ensure reliable electric service to your home or workplace. New-Mac Electric achieves this objective by systematically clearing the right-of-way along our power lines. What is a right-of-way?
It is an agreement with the land owner that allows us to access the property directly beneath and to either side of the electric power lines. The right-of-way provides a way for crews to enter the property at any time for maintenance, repairs or outages. Many times, this process requires the right-of-way crews to remove trees and brush that might keep the linemen from getting to the issue.
When clearing the brush away, New-Mac right-of-way crews will use the Jarraff with its 75-foot arm to trim trees along the power line’s path. The crews also use a Hydro Ax to perform heavy duty mowing of brush, and finally they use a Bobcat with a forestry cutting attachment to help grind up and move away the downed limbs and brush. The terrain of the Ozark region at times tests the machinery to its limits with hills, cliffs and uneven ground.
New-Mac strives to include the property owner and not to disrupt existing activities on the property. New-Mac asks that no storage buildings, barns, swing sets or other types of structures be placed beneath a power line. Items restrict workers from maintaining or repairing the lines for members after a storm. The right-of-way process is extremely important to the co-op, fulfilling our promise of providing reliable electricity, and if it does go out, having it restored as fast as possible.
We Need Your Help
When selecting trees many might think of a beautiful landscape, or providing shade in the summer that may help lower the energy bills, but helping to reduce the need of right-of-way maintenance might not be on their mind. You can help keep costs down and increase the power reliability by avoiding planting trees and bushes under or near power lines. Give New-Mac Electric a call before planting any trees if you have any questions about the best type of trees to plant and where to safely locate them.
