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Old 12-21-2013, 09:51 PM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,545,559 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom View Post
I have one in my back yard. It doesn't bother me at all. We're not supposed to plant anything within 5' of the box, or along the back 5' of the yard. My dog tears up anything I plant there anyhow, so it really doesn't matter to me.

The only real concern for me is that if they needed to access it, they would cut the lock off my gate and possibly end up letting my dogs out.
I have to say I've never noticed these boxes in back yards or rear of properties. Only in the front so that they are easily accessible along the road by utility companies. We happen to have a family of them ourselves.
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Old 12-21-2013, 11:08 PM
 
Location: Ocala, FL
6,391 posts, read 10,181,986 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom View Post
I have one in my back yard. It doesn't bother me at all. We're not supposed to plant anything within 5' of the box, or along the back 5' of the yard. My dog tears up anything I plant there anyhow, so it really doesn't matter to me.

The only real concern for me is that if they needed to access it, they would cut the lock off my gate and possibly end up letting my dogs out.
And technically, you should not have enclosed it in your backyard. I seriously doubt it was installed prior to you fencing it in your backyard. The utility company can cut your lock to gain access to the transformer without notifying you or asking for permission.
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Old 12-22-2013, 12:39 AM
 
12,973 posts, read 15,716,760 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dontaskwhy View Post
And technically, you should not have enclosed it in your backyard. I seriously doubt it was installed prior to you fencing it in your backyard. The utility company can cut your lock to gain access to the transformer without notifying you or asking for permission.
Again that is a localism. Depends on local law, what the easement actually says and local custom.

There is no universal rule. And I doubt they can forceably gain access in all jurisdictions. Perhaps in some but in most they must ask permission. And I know of cases where the utility had to go to court to get an HOA to allow them to work on a line.
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Old 12-22-2013, 02:49 AM
 
9,891 posts, read 11,671,558 times
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Quote:
Again that is a localism. Depends on local law, what the easement actually says and local custom.
Wrong!!! An easement is just that.

They have the right to access the transformer, 24/7 regardless of where it is located and what city or town it is in. They have to have access, in case of problems that develop, as one going bad can shut the electricity down for the entire area, can cause a serious fire situation, etc. They have to be able to access it, checking each transformer if there is problem on the line for any reason. The laws are written to give them access everywhere in the country. If they don't have legal access, there would be no electrical service for that property. If you have ever seen one blow up, you would understand why it works this way. We had one blow up, that served a dozen houses on our little circle. It sounded like someone had set off a big charge of dynamite. My daughter that was an office supervisor for the utility company was visiting. She called the emergency number, and the woman would not believe she would know what she was talking about, until my daughter told her she was a supervisor with the utility company. She then called the man in charge of the emergency crew directly and told him what happened, and within 30 minutes we had a crew out there to change the transformer so we were only down form service less than 2 hours. It took 30 minutes to get there, as it was about 15 miles from where the equipment storage was, and time for the men to get to the depot from their homes and then out to the transformer. It normally takes a lot longer, as electricity was down over a 2 mile area due to this one transformer, and normally takes a little while to locate the problem. As we heard the explosion and saw a huge electrical flash, and my daughter knowing what it was and who to call, it saved a lot of time to locate the problem. They knew where it was, and they would need to bring a transformer with them.

Yes if you landscape it so they cannot get close to it easily, they will kill your landscaping and remove it as they have to keep it accessible at all time. And if you get a fire going in one, there is usually not a lot of danger, unless you have shrubs, etc., too close to it that can catch fire and cause it to spread. They kill landscaping that intrudes on the area needed for safety and access to it.

If in a locked yard, they have the right to cut your lock to enter 24/7 if you are not at home. If you are at home, they may ask you to open the gate for them, and if you are not quick to do it, they will cut the lock. This all comes under public safety. If you try to stop them from coming into your yard, you will end up telling the judge why you tried to keep them out.

The best way to handle it, is to fence around it so they access it from an alley, or whatever not having to enter your property if they can have access from an alley or street.

We have one beside the drive as you enter the yard from our lane, located between the driveway and the property border to a 300 acre field. It is one of the larger ones, and where our electric meter is located. It is landscaped with shrubs on both sides of it leaving plenty of access, but the box is left in plain accessible sight right on the driveway. It is still about 75 feet or more to the house along our white rail fence.
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Old 12-22-2013, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,545,464 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lvoc View Post
YOu would have to read the exact language of the easement. It is allowable in many areas to landscape around a trasformer as long as you don't get too close or block access. If the power company killed a blade of grass on my property they would find themselves with a claim and then in small claims court.

They may exert a right but that does not mean they actually have it.
Um, that's exactly what they easement says.

You could try to take them to small claims court, but the judge would probably laugh at you. The reality is that all utilities discourage planting in easements, and they REQUIRE that access remain clear. If you plant euonymous hedges to disguise that ugly green box and they can't get to it one day, they absolutely will pull up your shrubs.
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Old 12-22-2013, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Ocala, FL
6,391 posts, read 10,181,986 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lvoc View Post
Again that is a localism. Depends on local law, what the easement actually says and local custom.
I stand by my assertion as others have agreed. The very nature of an easement grants the utility the right to come and go as they please to service the transformer as needed. The individual homeowner's rights do not extend to the easement area.
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Old 12-22-2013, 07:51 AM
 
Location: Columbia SC
14,183 posts, read 14,539,139 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dontaskwhy View Post
I stand by my assertion as others have agreed. The very nature of an easement grants the utility the right to come and go as they please to service the transformer as needed. The individual homeowner's rights do not extend to the easement area.
I agree. The easement grants them the right.
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Old 12-22-2013, 10:48 AM
 
12,973 posts, read 15,716,760 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtrader View Post
Wrong!!! An easement is just that.

They have the right to access the transformer, 24/7 regardless of where it is located and what city or town it is in. They have to have access, in case of problems that develop, as one going bad can shut the electricity down for the entire area, can cause a serious fire situation, etc. They have to be able to access it, checking each transformer if there is problem on the line for any reason. The laws are written to give them access everywhere in the country. If they don't have legal access, there would be no electrical service for that property. If you have ever seen one blow up, you would understand why it works this way. We had one blow up, that served a dozen houses on our little circle. It sounded like someone had set off a big charge of dynamite. My daughter that was an office supervisor for the utility company was visiting. She called the emergency number, and the woman would not believe she would know what she was talking about, until my daughter told her she was a supervisor with the utility company. She then called the man in charge of the emergency crew directly and told him what happened, and within 30 minutes we had a crew out there to change the transformer so we were only down form service less than 2 hours. It took 30 minutes to get there, as it was about 15 miles from where the equipment storage was, and time for the men to get to the depot from their homes and then out to the transformer. It normally takes a lot longer, as electricity was down over a 2 mile area due to this one transformer, and normally takes a little while to locate the problem. As we heard the explosion and saw a huge electrical flash, and my daughter knowing what it was and who to call, it saved a lot of time to locate the problem. They knew where it was, and they would need to bring a transformer with them.

Yes if you landscape it so they cannot get close to it easily, they will kill your landscaping and remove it as they have to keep it accessible at all time. And if you get a fire going in one, there is usually not a lot of danger, unless you have shrubs, etc., too close to it that can catch fire and cause it to spread. They kill landscaping that intrudes on the area needed for safety and access to it.

If in a locked yard, they have the right to cut your lock to enter 24/7 if you are not at home. If you are at home, they may ask you to open the gate for them, and if you are not quick to do it, they will cut the lock. This all comes under public safety. If you try to stop them from coming into your yard, you will end up telling the judge why you tried to keep them out.

The best way to handle it, is to fence around it so they access it from an alley, or whatever not having to enter your property if they can have access from an alley or street.

We have one beside the drive as you enter the yard from our lane, located between the driveway and the property border to a 300 acre field. It is one of the larger ones, and where our electric meter is located. It is landscaped with shrubs on both sides of it leaving plenty of access, but the box is left in plain accessible sight right on the driveway. It is still about 75 feet or more to the house along our white rail fence.
Around here this seldom comes up as an issue as the transformers and such are virtually always located along the front line of the property near the street. That area in general is within the street easement which makes it a publicly passable area. It does come up on the electric service access box and meter which are often accessible only by passing through a locked gate.

Again. The ultimate right to use the easement is clear. What steps and authority the holder of the easement has is a matter of the local law and the easement.

Busted transformer may well provide for instant access including damaging the landowners property in the process. There are over riding rules in an emergency. Note that the easement holder may be liable for damage that occurs in the access.

If it is not an emergency situation that may well not be true. The utility may have to ask to access their equipment and may well have to schedule their access.

If a landowner refuses to allow the use of an easement it may be necessary for the utility to go to court and get an order to access it. That was what happened in a case I know about. In that particular case a utility wished to dig up a pipe and replace it. It involved a significant nuisance to the community and the HOA simply refused to allow the utility vehicles to enter the property. The utility eventually got the permission after a long court battle and making a deal.
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Old 12-22-2013, 01:00 PM
 
155 posts, read 374,926 times
Reputation: 35
Exclamation Children playing in a backyard with a Transformer??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom View Post
I have one in my back yard. It doesn't bother me at all. We're not supposed to plant anything within 5' of the box, or along the back 5' of the yard. My dog tears up anything I plant there anyhow, so it really doesn't matter to me.

The only real concern for me is that if they needed to access it, they would cut the lock off my gate and possibly end up letting my dogs out.
I just read the Survey better. The Transformer Easement IS in the back yard. To the back NW corner backing up to the alley. The Transformer appears to be inside the backyard fence. This seems irresponsible for a municipality to put Transformers in homeowners' backyards where children can play.
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Old 12-22-2013, 01:03 PM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,545,464 times
Reputation: 98359
I grew up playing on and around utility transformers. We would climb on it and jump off it and make it a stage.

It's meant to be safe for the public. They couldn't just leave anything sitting around unattended that could hurt people.
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