At Lower Yellowstone Rural Electric Cooperative, we are committed to working safely and effectively to protect members and employees. We strive to bring you the power of safety through education and community outreach, with safety tools, resources and programs.
When it comes to electricity inside and outside of your home, safety should always be your number one priority.
As part of the ongoing maintenance of our electric distribution system, LYREC crews must trim - and in some cases remove - trees and vegetation that can interfere with the power lines.
LYREC will consider removal of a tree within 15 feet of primary wire (runs along the road). Trees growing near service wire (runs into the house) will be removed if they are endangering the line, dead, trunks are rubbing the wire of if they are in a weakened condition. Otherwise, LYREC will trim the trees back 15 feet on each side of the primary line.
Right-of-way and easement agreements allow LYREC to access private property in order to maintain our distribution system. This work helps us access power lines for maintenance and repairs, but it also helps us improve the reliability of your electric service.
Ice can weigh branches down until they are in danger of touching lines. Thunderstorms or heavy rains can cause tree limbs (or a tree itself) to fall on overhead lines, taking out the power to your neighborhood. This can also cause energized lines to fall to the ground, posing a safety hazard to anyone nearby.
We can't prevent bad weather, but we can reduce outages caused by falling limbs and trees. Our line crews work year-round to maintain the right-of-way. Trimming the trees before bad weather hits, can reduce the chance of a tree falling on the line and cause an interruption of power.
As a member of LYREC, we taking safety very seriously. If you have a tree that needs to be trimmed that is close to a power line, call 406-488-1602 and LYREC will trim the tree for you at no cost.
