Danger in Power Lines Has More Than One Owner

On several occasions I have referred to the danger represented by vines and tree branches entangled with power lines: I have shown photos and mentioned explosions for these causes, including the death of a pig when it was electrocuted.

In Cuban regulations, this is mainly regulated by norms of the electrical sector — the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) and the Electric Union, among others — in addition to other regulations that include municipal ordinances.

There is no single article that says «the vine on the line is pruned by such-and-such a company or agency.» There is a distribution of responsibilities.

Let’s go into detail. First it is necessary to know who is responsible for the vegetation, and second, who carries out the pruning or cutting when the vegetation invades or threatens the power lines.

Law 128/2019, the National Electrical Law, its Regulation — Decree 349/2019 — and the complementary norms of the National Electric Union (UNE) regulate these responsibilities.

These norms establish the obligations of the Electric Company to maintain the safety conditions of the lines, as well as the duty of property owners not to create risks or obstruct the service.

For its part, the MINEM/UNE Resolution on easements and safety strips of power lines sets the safety distances and the «easement strip,» where there should be no vegetation that interferes.

In that strip, the Electric Company may intervene in the vegetation, and the owner is obliged to allow access and to keep it free of incompatible plantings.

Likewise, municipal ordinances and regulations on cleaning, ornamentation, and green areas usually attribute to the property owner the obligation to keep the vegetation on their property in conditions that do not affect third parties or public services.

That is, the general rule is that the vegetation belongs to the owner or holder of the land. If the vine grows in a private yard, farm, or lot, the primary person responsible for its control is the owner or holder.

The Electric Company may require it, and if they do not comply, carry out the pruning at their account and risk, with possible charge of expenses, backed by the law.

The UNE is responsible for keeping the safety strip clear and for carrying out the pruning or cutting when the vegetation, including vines and climbing plants, compromises the line.

When it is in streets, parks, and state green areas, the responsibility for pruning falls on the entity that administers that space (municipal Government, Communal Services, etc.), in coordination with the UNE when it affects the lines.

The landowner must not have vegetation that invades the safety distance of the line and is obliged to prune or eliminate it.

Therefore, we already know the responsible parties: let us act as the law establishes. Let us not wait, as I have said on other occasions, for an irreparable tragedy to occur.