This power line path is near Summit is one example of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan for vegetation control along transmission lines, which involves clearing rights of way from 75 to 200 feet wide.TVA transmission network• 15,900 circuit miles of transmission line• 102,200 transmission line structures• 487 power stations and switchyards• 260,000 acres of transmission right-of-wayTVA power rights of way• Most transmission line rights are 75 feet to 200 feet wide• Below the power lines, only grasses an and non-woody plants are allowed• In the border areas near the power lines, no trees are allowed that might grow more than 15 feet in height• TVA mows and uses herbicides to control vegetation along its rights of way, usually on three to five-year cycles.
Anthony Billingsley had only been in his Stoney Brook Lane house for three months last year when he got a notice that some of the trees in his backyard near TVA’s electricity transmission lines were scheduled to be cut down.
“I worked in the past for the [Electric] Power Board so I know about power easements, but I never expected them to have to remove 30- and 40-year-old, relatively small trees that weren’t even under the power lines,” Billingsley recalled Wednesday. “It was outrageous.”
Billingsley, who so far has blocked any tree removal by joining a lawsuit challenging TVA’s vegetation-control policy, is among thousands of property owners across the Tennessee Valley who own trees near TVA power lines that the utility plans to cut down. Tennessee Valley Authority officials said Wednesday the policy is designed to ensure the safety and reliability of its nearly 16,000 miles of transmission lines, which carry power to 9 million people in TVA’s seven-state region.
“We’re not against trees, but in most instances trees and transmission lines don’t mix well,” said Jason Regg, manager of line applied services for TVA in its eastern region. “We are trying to maintain the most reliable electricity system that we can, and for the safety of those living near power lines and to avoid unnecessary outages, we need to control the vegetation on our easements beneath and near our power lines.”