Portland General Electric tree trimming near power lines

Where PGE trims

PGE serves seven Oregon counties and 51 cities, about 955,655 retail customers in the Portland metro and northern Willamette Valley. Its service-area page names most of Portland (including Hayden, Tomahawk and Sauvie islands and everything from 122nd Ave. east toward Mount Hood), plus Canby, Forest Grove, McMinnville, Salem, West Salem and Keizer. The county list itself is not spelled out on the pages checked.

Check the name on your electric bill before you call. Forest Grove Light & Power and McMinnville Water & Light run their own tree programs inside those cities, and Pacific Power covers parts of the metro and many cities outside it (see our Pacific Power tree trimming page). The utilities index covers the other Oregon and Washington utilities.

What PGE trims and how often

PGE keeps clearances around four kinds of wire: transmission lines on metal towers up to 180 ft tall, primary distribution lines at the top of wood poles, secondary lines below the pole-top transformers, and the service wires that run to buildings.

Contract tree crews visit each area every two to three years, and a neighborhood project takes three to four months to finish. PGE sends notification letters before cycle work and offers free wood chips in neighborhoods where crews are active. PGE’s page does not quote a charge for cycle pruning (not stated); it is scheduled maintenance rather than something you order.

Clearance distance

PGE’s working figure is at least 10 ft of clearance around primary distribution lines. The exact distance depends on the line voltage and the tree species, and the legal minimums come from the Oregon Public Utility Commission’s vegetation rule, OAR 860-024-0016. PGE does not publish a single number for transmission corridors (not stated).

The service wire to your house

The service wire is on PGE’s list, but with one condition: crews prune it only if they find branches creating strain on the wire or abrading it. PGE asks customers to help by not planting under or around service wires. A limb resting above the drop, a hedge grown around it, or a tree you want removed near it is your responsibility and your cost.

PGE’s tree page does not describe a temporary service disconnect program (not stated). Before any work near the wire, call the Tree Hotline; PGE says to call for advice or assistance before working on trees. A crew quoting work within 10 ft of the wire should be able to explain how it will keep the required distance, which is covered on our tree removal near power lines page.

How to request trimming

For a tree growing into a PGE line, call the Tree Hotline at 503-736-5460, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., or email forestry@pgn.com. PGE does not publish a response-time target (not stated). For a limb on your own tree that is nowhere near a line, that is ordinary tree trimming; see tree trimming cost for the modeled ranges.

A tree touching a line right now

Treat the tree, the ground under it and anything touching it as energized. Keep people and pets away, and do not let anyone cut, pull or push the tree. Report it to PGE’s 24-hour line at 503-464-7777 or 800-544-1795. If the line is on the ground, on a car, or there is fire or an injury, call 911 first.

A private crew cannot safely start until PGE has de-energized or cleared the line. Our emergency tree service page covers what happens after the utility leaves, including fallen tree removal.

Who may work within 10 ft of a line

In practice that means a general tree service in Portland or Salem can take down the parts of a tree outside the zone but must either wait for PGE to clear the line or bring in a line-clearance contractor. Check any crew’s CCB or LCB license first; our Oregon tree service license lookup guide walks through it.

Planting under PGE lines

PGE’s Tree Planting Guide splits a yard into zones. Directly under distribution lines, plant small trees with a mature height of 20 to 30 ft. Near transmission lines, keep trees to 15 ft tall and at least 30 ft away. Spreading-crown trees should go at least 25 ft from wires, sidewalks and buildings; columnar or pyramidal forms can be as close as 10 ft. Keep 10 ft clear in front of a pad-mounted transformer and 3 ft on the other sides. The guide links brochures on selecting trees and on inspecting and pruning them; it does not list species on the page itself (not stated).