I recently read a legal post from a resident of San Bruno asking lawyers what he should do about a very low-hanging high voltage power line that was running through his property to supply power to a neighbor’s building. The man said someone could touch the line by hand.
Have no fear, this situation can be fixed very easily and without any assistance from a lawyer. It involves just picking up the phone and calling your utility provider. For us northern Californian residents, that would be PG&E.
I personally had an experience with the same problem, and it was solved with ease. I was helping out a friend with purchasing a home, and we noticed that a neighbor’s power line was running right through our backyard just a little over 6 feet off the ground. It was so low that at its lowest point, the line was just inches away from my head. We told the listing agent about the situation, and PG&E was dispatched within a matter of days. A week later, the line was raised to a safe height.
As a rule of thumb, remember that PG&E will pay utmost attention to these situations. After PG&E was involved with the San Bruno gas explosion back in 2010, it pays special attention to anything that may lead to the utility provider being put on the 10 o’clock nightly news with the headline “Child electrocuted to death after swinging on low-hanging power line.”
Whenever you need help with connections to high voltage power lines or gas connections, give your local utility provider a call. Many times your issue can be resolved with minimal effort and cost.
