Researcher: LRH Page 1 3/29/21
OLR Bill Analysis
SB 950
AN ACT CONCERNING THE REPLACEMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITY
POLES AND REVISING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN UTILITY
PROTECTION ZONES.
SUMMARY
This bill sets a 90-day deadline for utility companies to place their
lines and other equipment on a utility pole after it has been replaced.
It also makes it easier for utilities to trim trees near a three-phase
main power line by exempting them, under certain circumstances,
from requirements to obtain a permit from the local tree warden and
consent from certain property owners. Under the bill, a “three-phase
main” is the segment of circuit that originates directly from a
substation and is protected by a circuit breaker or recloser-type device.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021
UTILITY POLES
The bill requires public service companies to place their lines,
conduits, cables, wires, and other equipment that they own or operate
on a replaced public utility pole within 90 days after (1) an emergency
requiring the pole’s replacement or (2) a preplanned pole replacement.
Under the bill, “public service companies” are the investor-owned
utility companies generally regulated by the Public Utilities
Regulatory Authority (PURA). An “emergency” is (1) a hurricane,
tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave,
tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide,
snowstorm, drought or fire explosion or (2) an attack causing
substantial damage or injury to civilian property or people in the
country.
UTILITY TREE TRIMMING 2021SB-00950-R000190-BA.DOCX
Researcher: LRH Page 2 3/29/21
Current law generally requires a utility that plans to prune or
remove a tree on municipal property to obtain a permit from the local
tree warden (CGS § 23-65(f)). If the tree is outside of the public right-
of-way, current law also requires a utility to obtain written affirmative
consent from the property owner where the tree is located (CGS § 16-
234).
The bill exempts a utility from both of these requirements if any
part of the tree is (1) located in the utility protection zone for a three-
phase main or (2) part of a hazardous tree that could endanger a three-
phase main.
By law, the “utility protections zone” is a rectangular area that
extends horizontally for eight feet on either side of an electrical
conductor or wire installed on a utility pole, and vertically from the
ground to the sky. A “hazardous tree” is a tree, or part of it, that is
dead, extensively decayed, or structurally weak, which, if it fell, would
endanger utility infrastructure, facilities, or equipment. A “utility” is
an investor-owned telephone, telecommunications, or electric
distribution company regulated by PURA.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Energy and Technology Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 25 Nay 0 (03/11/2021)