ENCROACHMENTS ON
TRANSMISSION
RIGHTSOFWAY
34 kilovolts (kV) 50-100 100
46 kV 50-100 100
69 kV 50-100 100
115 kV 70-100 100
138 kV 70-100 100
161 kV 100-120 120
230 kV 120-150 150
345 kV 150 150
765 kV 200 200
VOLTAGE URBAN RURAL
TYPICAL WIDTH (FEET)
ENCROACHMENTS ON TRANSMISSION RIGHTSOFWAY
The purpose of this brochure is to inform property owners about
“dos and don’ts” in and around electric line easements.
Easements (also called rights of way) enable the operating units
of American Electric Power (AEP) to use another person’s
property to construct and maintain electric power transmission
facilities, mainly lines and towers. AEP also needs access to its
facilities to perform maintenance.
Landowners generally can continue to use their property in the
right-of-way if the use is compatible with the purpose of the
easement, in AEP’s case, the transmission of electricity.
Incompatible uses in a right-of-way constitute encroachments;
the subject of this publication.
Restrictions on how landowners can use their property within
rights-of-way are designed to protect landowners from injury
and electrical facilities from damage. Encroachments may be
unsafe to the landowner and may impair the safe operation of
AEP’s electric transmission lines. That’s why AEP patrols its
rights-of-way and inspects its lines. AEP can require a
landowner to remove an encroachment at the landowner’s
expense if the use is not compatible with the company’s
easement.
Most easements do not expire; they are perpetual in duration.
As such, when property is sold and conveyed to another, the
easements remain in effect and are binding on the new owner.
Please read on to learn more about the issue of encroachment
and about permitted and prohibited uses in easements.
BUYER BEWARE
Buyers should inspect property before buying to determine whether
an electric transmission line easement affects the property. While an
easement can have a significant impact on the buyer’s plans to use
the property, in many cases an easement allows compatible uses.
EASEMENTS
Simply put, a landowner grants certain rights to use property to
another person or entity through an easement. Webster’s dictionary
defines an easement as “a legal interest in real property that grants
the right to use in some specified manner the property of another.”
Many landowners prefer to grant an easement, covering surface
rights only, rather than an outright sale of land for right-of-way.
With an easement the landowner may reserve the right to use the
property for planting crops or pasturing animals in rural areas,
for example. But the use must not be incompatible with the rights
granted in the easement.
Most utility line easements today specify the location and width of
the right-of-way. Some older easements were frequently “blanket
easements” allowing a utility to cross property wherever it needed.
Due to the many versions of easements over the years, it is important
for landowners or prospective purchasers of land to review the
ENCROACHMENTS
Buildings, building extensions and additions (homes, businesses,
garages, barns), swimming pools, above ground fuel tanks, tall
signs or billboards, tall trees, obstructions and mounding of soil in
the right-of-way are encroachments that are prohibited. Any road
construction involving raising the natural grade and any topographic
changes require AEP’s review and approval in writing in advance.
If any such encroachment is found to be under construction, AEP will
request immediate stoppage and removal of the encroachment. If
installed, AEP will request removal of the encroachment. Most
easements identify objects that are not allowed in the easement.
Other easements state that objects that interfere with safe operation
of a line are not permitted. Should a landowner
refuse to cooperate, AEP will seek legal recourse to have the
object removed.
VARIANCES
When a variance or consent to encroach is requested, AEP
will review the pertinent easement as well as operational and code
compliance requirements. AEP will respond to the landowner
and present its findings in writing.
RIGHTOFWAY MAINTENANCE
Once an electric power line is installed on an easement, AEP
must keep the line free from outages and interruptions due to
contact from vegetation, trees or objects. Vegetation management
methods include clear cutting or total removal of trees and
vegetation, trimming and herbicide spraying, generally in rural areas.
It is important to note that most easements enable AEP to cut trees
and limbs outside the easement where trees or limbs may endanger
AEP’s lines.
AEP is very concerned about safety around its electric
lines and urges landowners and others to exercise caution
when under or near any overhead electric lines.
terms of an easement. This review should provide guidance about
permitted uses within the boundaries of a right-of-way easement.
The National Electric Safety Code (NESC) specifies minimum
horizontal and vertical clearance requirements for overhead lines.
These clearance requirements must be complied with. Specific
easement agreements may require more clearance.
The following chart lists typical right-of-way widths for various
electric line voltages and locations.
Prior to closing the purchase of property, the buyer should determine
whether an easement exists on the property. The buyer should
inspect the property and ask the closing attorney or the seller about
the presence of an easement. Sometimes, property title searches
for lending institutions may to back only 30 to 40 years. The law in
most states puts a buyer on notice if the electric transmission line
can be seen during an inspection. Easements remain valid even if
they are not shown in a title report. AEP maintains a database of
recorded easements granted to its operating companies.
USES IN RIGHTSOFWAY
ELECTRIC FIELDS AND NUISANCE SHOCKS
Landowners should be aware of the following guidelines and issues.
• AEP must review and approve in writing changes in ground
elevation in a right-of-way. Placement of fill dirt in the right-of-way
reduces conductor-to-ground clearance. This is not allowed
without prior AEP approval. (See contact information below.)
An unapproved fill could require AEP to raise its electric lines
at the landowner’s expense.
• Roads or lanes generally are permitted to cross rights-of-way.
While such crossing should be located close to a transmission
structure, the actual location must be reviewed and approved
by AEP. Proximity to a tower provides maximum vertical
clearance between energized conductors and vehicles.
• No dirt or spoil shall be stored or deposited – even temporarily –
on a right-of-way for any reason.
• Any excavation in the right-of-way must have a minimum
40-foot-radius buffer of undisturbed soil around all transmission
structures, including guy wires and anchors, for 345 kV and above
lines. A 30-foot-radius buffer is required for 34 -161 kV lines.
AEP must approve any excavation that affects its access to
a transmission structure.
• AEP must approve all electric, gas, telephone, cable TV,
water, sewer and other lines in the right-of-way. These lines must
be placed at least 40 feet from all structures, and overhead
clearances must be maintained.
• No pond, lake or other water detention area is allowed to cover
the entire width of an electric transmission line right-of-way.
A minimum corridor width of 30 feet must be available for large
utility vehicles to drive the length of the right-of-way without
restriction for maintenance purposes.
An electric field or e-field contains invisible lines of force produced by
electric voltage. An e-field surrounds any wire or conductor that has
voltage placed upon it. When energized, power lines, electrical
wiring, appliances, TV sets, hair dryers, computers and other
electrical devices produce e-fields. An e-field is a natural force that
cannot be eliminated or confined. Its strength varies with distance
from the conductor. E-field strength is stronger near its source and
decreases with distance from the conductor.
E-fields cause induced-voltage nuisance shocks when a person
touches an ungrounded metal object or other conductor, such
as a vehicle parked on or slightly off the right-of-way. A nuisance
shock will not harm the recipient but could be startling.
The prospect of such shocks is influenced by many factors, including:
• line voltage
• conductor ground clearance (vertical distance) and horizontal distance
• type of material (conducting or non-conducting)
• type of soil (resistance to electrical charge)
• location and size of vehicle or object
• atmospheric conditions and personal physiology
• insulating capability of one’s shoes
LOCATION MATTERS
The location of a vehicle or object within a right-of-way is the primary
factor in nuisance shocks. Typically, nuisance shocks occur with
vehicles parked in or next to the right-of-way of a 345 kV (or larger) line.
Larger conductive objects (tall or long trucks, for example) are more
likely to build up a greater charge. Thus, they may deliver a potentially
annoying shock when a person’s body provides a path to ground for
electric current. In some cases backyard metallic objects such as
swings, portable grills and parked lawnmowers can deliver
shocks if located in or close to an extra high voltage line’s right-of-way.
Contact with an ungrounded metal fence can also deliver a shock.
Someone cleaning gutters on a structure near the edge of a high
voltage line can get a shock.
Predicting the likelihood of nuisance shocks is impossible. As
mentioned, e-field strength is determined by distance from the source.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) guidelines and
calculated e-field magnitudes were used to create the table below –
Likelihood of Shock Occurring with Vehicles Parked in the Right-of-Way.
This table contains general information and is intended for general public
education about e-fields and the potential for nuisance shocks. It was
prepared to show the types transmission lines with vehicles parked in
the right-of-way that could produce nuisance shocks.
• Light standards or poles in the right-of-way must be approved in
advance by AEP to maintain proper clearance.
• Erosion problems from landowner actions are the landowner’s
responsibility. If a problem threatens the integrity of AEP’s
power lines, the landowner should notify AEP immediately
and take corrective action.
• No temporary or permanent structures, buildings, in-ground or
above ground pools, playground equipment or other fixed im
provements should be erected in the right-of-way.
• Ingress and egress (right of passage in and out of property) to
AEP lines are critical. Therefore, any fences along the entire
width of a right-of-way should have a 14-foot-wide gate with an
AEP lock in the locking chain.
• All fences with metal components should be grounded to prevent
nuisance shocks.
• Row crops – corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans, for example – are
permitted in rural right-of-way, but not tree farms. Keep in mind
that line trucks traveling along a right-of-way can damage crops.
Compensation terms for crop damage from maintenance work are
covered in the easement.
• In urban areas, many easements are used for lawns, gardens and
recreational areas. These are acceptable as long as they do not
endanger the safe operation of the line. Parking lots are usually
acceptable under lines up to 161 kV. Higher voltage lines could
produce induced voltage shocks that may be uncomfortable to
some users. Landowners should contact AEP regarding
parking vehicles under or near 230 kV to 765 kV lines. Planting
trees, especially taller-growing and/or nut-bearing varieties, is not
permitted in an easement. Low-growing fruit trees or shrubs are
generally acceptable. Contact AEP at the number listed
below with questions. AEP reserves the right to trim or
remove trees at its discretion.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
34-46 All N N N N N N N
69 H-Frame N N N N N N N
69 Single Pole Horizontal Post Insulator N N N N N N N
138 H-Frame P P N P N N N
138 Single Pole Horizontal Post Insulator N N N N N N N
138 Single Pole Davit Arm Suspension N N N N N N N
345 Single Circuit Lattice Tower Y Y N Y Y P P
345 Single Pole Structure Y Y N Y Y N N
345 Double Circuit Lattice Y Y N Y N N N
765 Guyed V Tower (Existing) Y Y P Y Y Y Y
765 Guyed V Tower (New) Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
765 Lattice Tower Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
ID VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
1 Large Tractor Trailer (52’ long)
2 Large School Bus (34’ long)
3 Small Farm Tractor
4 John Deere Combine
5 Full-Size Van (20’ long)
6 Pickup Truck
7 Automobile
VOLTAGE (KV) STRUCTURE TYPE
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION ID
AEP OHIO
1-800-672-2231
LIKELIHOOD OF SHOCK OCCURRING
AEP TEXAS:
1-877-373-4858
SOUTHWESTERN ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY
East Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas: 1-888-216-3523
North Texas Panhandle: 1-800-723-7430
PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF OKLAHOMA:
1-888-216-3523
INDIANA MICHIGAN POWER
Indiana: 1-800-311-4634
Michigan: 1-800-311-6424
KENTUCKY POWER:
1-800-572-1113
APPALACHIAN POWER
Tennessee: 1-800-967-4237
Virginia: 1-800-956-4237
West Virginia: 1-800-982-4237