[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by RobinP

I have a main power line running through woods behind my house. It has never been a probelm but recently we have had two power cuts, one because of the unseasonal snow at the end of October and the other for some unknown malfunfunction. Now as a result of one of my neighbours ringing up the council the woods have been trimmed (i.e decimated) as a result. Hopefully the foxes, muntjacs and bullfinches will still come visiting.

Probably no need to blame your neighbour (and as others have said it's not the disaster it now looks) anyway the reasons for the cutting are sound safety issues placed into law now being acted upon:

http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file34072.pdf

What the law requires Electricity companies (such as National Grid, Scottish & Southern Energy, ScottishPower, United Utilities, CE Electric UK, Central Networks, EDF Energy and Western Power Distribution) are currently required by law to keep trees clear of overhead lines for reasons of public safety. This is changing. New laws coming in that mean companies must also keep sufficient distance between trees and overhead lines to avoid them interfering with supply and so improve reliability.
The new requirements mean that more extensive tree cutting will be carried out than before, with trees that pose a high risk being removed. Some electricity companies
may need to catch up with a backlog of works to improve supply reliability to the desired level. Hence, the new law will not be enforced until 2009 to give companies sufficient time to get up to date and to get regular tree cutting regimes in place.


CM