What
is Right-of-Way?
In the strict sense of the word, right-of-way refers to
the land on which infrastructure is built. Infrastructure
could be anything from a highway, airport or power lines.
Projects such as power lines, pipelines or telephone facilities
all require right-of-way.
LEC uses right-of-way to build and maintain power lines.
We maintain right-of-way areas by controlling brush and
tree re-growth in all easement areas. Right-of-way is
usually on private land and is obtained by an agreement
with the current landowner when new poles and wires are
installed. LEC doesn't own the private land, but is legally
granted the right by the landowner to maintain brush and
tree re-growth.
Why LEC needs right-of-way?
Laurens Electric has a legal obligation to provide safe
and reliable electric service to our members. This obligation
could not be met without a commitment to an effective
right-of-way program.
With the vast size of LEC’s service area and its
diverse terrain, a well maintained right-of-way program
is a critical part of our everyday functions. It is important
to have clearance between trees, brush and power lines
and poles, so your power stays on. If the power does go
out, a maintained right-of-way helps our line crews spot
the cause of an outage so they can get your power back
on more quickly. Thick brush and trees in easement areas
limits access and cuts efficiency and safety for line
crews. Before crews can fix a power outage, they need
to drive or walk every piece of line before turning on
the power or it could be harmful or even fatal to a line
worker or yourself. If line crews can't access the lines
because of poor right-of-way, the member is more likely
to be without power for a longer period of time and more
often.
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