Councils applauded for keeping powerlines clear

Mitchell, Nillumbik, Melton, Wellington and Moreland councils are Victoria’s best-performing local government areas when it comes to keeping trees clear of powerlines.

Contact between trees and powerlines can result in fires, electrocutions and power outages, which can lead to serious property damage, network outages and, in serious cases, injury and even loss of life.

Councils (responsible for keeping trees clear of powerlines on urban public land) and electricity companies (private land and regional public land) are responsible for maintaining trees at safe distances under the Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2020.

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) has increased its oversight of councils and major electricity companies through its inspection programs. This is being done to ensure trees are being managed to standards that meet the community’s expectations for safety.

The Shire of Mitchell has recorded the state’s best council compliance standard with 95% of sites inspected by ESV meeting the required standard. This was followed by the Shire of Nillumbik (92%), City of Melton (84%), Shire of Wellington (84%) and the City of Moreland (82%).

However, the average compliance standard across Victoria’s 67 councils is 70%. Councils have improved their compliance in recent years through better funding and resources, additional training for council staff and improved auditing processes.

During field inspections, ESV line clearance compliance officers review each span — the length of powerline between two power poles — to ensure vegetation is outside the required minimum distance.

As of 27 June this year, ESV has also been granted powers to issue infringement notices to councils and major electricity companies that fail to maintain the minimum clearances, with fines of up to $4623 able to be issued to those that do not meet their responsibilities.

For situations of widespread non-compliance or where serious harm or property damage has occurred, ESV may still seek to prosecute in accordance with its Compliance and Enforcement Policy and Prosecution Guidelines.

To highlight the dangers of trees being too close to powerlines, ESV has produced a short animation, which also alerts the community to the line clearance responsibilities across Victoria. The animation can be viewed here.

More than 1100 power outages are caused by trees touching powerlines in Victoria each year, affecting 400,000 residences and businesses.

For more information go to esv.vic.gov.au.

Image credit: iStock.com/Supersmario