Oncor Urges Consumers — Stay Away from Trees in Power Lines

Business Wire, July 9, 2008

Lifetime of Safety tips for July ask Texans to not prune trees within 10 feet of power lines

DALLAS -- With cold weather behind us and the rainy season dwindling, trees are flourishing in Texas -- some right into power lines.

Many Texans are tempted at this time of the year to prune their trees out of power lines. For safety reasons, Oncor asks that consumers do not go within 10 feet of tree limbs in high voltage lines. Oncor arranges for trees to be pruned around its power lines and equipment. To report a tree within 10 feet of power lines that is causing a potentially hazardous condition like sparking, consumers should call the number on their electric bill.

A consistent source of shock injuries and electrocutions each year occur when people accidentally come into contact with power lines while pruning trees. Every year in Texas, people are injured or even killed when they climb or prune trees near power lines. Tree limbs in contact with power lines can act as conductors, and a person can be seriously injured if contact is made.

While Oncor urges consumers to not prune near high voltage power lines, homeowners are responsible for pruning near service lines that run from the pole to the meter on their house. Remember -- never attempt to prune main lines that run pole to pole.

Oncor offers these tips for tree pruning:

* Remember, for safety reasons, Oncor asks that consumers maintain a 10-foot distance from tree limbs in lines. This means that consumers should never prune trees that touch power lines.

* Hire an expert - look for a tree pruning company with an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) to prune near service lines.

* If you decide to prune a service line yourself, call the number on your electric bill BEFORE pruning to arrange for power to be turned off. For a fee, power can be disconnected from an individual home and re-connected the same day.

* If a tree falls into a power line, call the number on your electric bill. Don't touch anything that comes into contact with the line. If the power line falls, leave the area immediately and call 9-1-1.

To find out more about Oncor's Lifetime of Safety campaign, visit www.oncor.com/safety.

Oncor is a regulated electric distribution and transmission business that uses superior asset management skills to provide reliable electricity delivery to consumers. Oncor operates the largest distribution and transmission system in Texas, providing power to 3 million electric delivery points over more than 102,000 miles of distribution and 14,000 miles of transmission lines. While Oncor is a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings Corp., Oncor is a separate entity with a separate board that is comprised of a majority of independent directors.