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Powerco, Tree safety near power lines

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Text capture of public Tree Truck material. The link opens the live original. Nothing here came from a Tree Truck system.

Section 1

The 4 metre rule, and why the work has to go to an approved contractor

Powerco is the lines company for Whanganui, and regulation 5 of the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003 requires every works owner to publish an explanation of the zones and the offences, which is what this page is. It states: "Property owners are legally required to keep trees a minimum safe distance away from overhead lines under the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003. If your tree grows too close, you must get it trimmed by an approved contractor." And on doing it yourself: "Working near power lines is dangerous. That’s why any tree within 4m of lines must be trimmed by an approved contractor. You can be prosecuted under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 for attempting to carry out tree trimming work yourself." Note which instrument each rule comes from: the 4 metre approach rule is from the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, not from the Hazards from Trees regulations, and the two are different sets of rules about the same tree.

Section 2

The published zone table still uses the term the regulations revoked on 23 July 2026

The page carries a zone table whose columns, as read on 29 August 2026, are headed "Overhead line voltage", "Growth limit zone", "Cut-back zone" and "Notice zone". Rows include "Power lines (230–400 V)" at 0.5m, 1.5m and 2.5m, "High voltage lines (6.6kV)" at 1.6m, 2.6m and 3.6m, and "High voltage lines (66kV or more)" at 4.0m, 5.0m and 6.0m. The arithmetic matches the regulations exactly: the cut-back zone is the growth limit zone plus 1 metre, and the third column is the growth limit zone plus 2 metres. The heading on that third column is the problem. The term notice zone was revoked on 23 July 2026 and replaced by hazard warning notice zone, so a page still headed Notice zone is using the pre-23-July-2026 name for the same distance. The distances are right and the label is out of date, which is exactly the kind of drift a cited answer is supposed to surface rather than repeat.

Section 3

PPPD notices: the first cut is covered, later cuts are quoted

Powerco names the first-cut notice PPPD. The page states that "PPPD Cut or Trim Notices let you know this is the first time your tree(s) need to be cut", and describes the arrangement as "Covering the cost of the first trim if your tree hasn’t previously been cut." That mirrors regulation 11 of the Electricity (Hazards from Trees) Regulations 2003, under which the works owner meets the reasonable costs of the first cut or trim of a tree that has not previously been the subject of a cut or trim notice. A later notice on the same tree is not covered, and the tree owner gets a quote from an approved contractor. The page also notes that the contractor can advise on arranging a temporary disconnection to the property so the work can be done safely.

Concept demo by Brim Consultancy and Emertech — no access to any Tree Truck system; every record simulated. This is a text capture made for the demo, not a copy of the page. Wording is paraphrased apart from short quoted fragments and specification figures, which are copied exactly as the source prints them, including its own typos.