Easement and Right of Way (For Electrical Transmission Lines - Short Form)

What is a right-of-way? It is a legal agreement that allows us access to the property directly beneath and to either side of an electric power line. Also called an easement, the right-of-way allows us to enter the property at any time, to perform maintenance or repairs to our equipment.

An easement held by an electricity provider allows it to erect and maintain electric power equipment on your land. The easement gives the electric power company the right to use a property for this specific purpose only.

It's generally advised, for example, that you should live 600 metres from high-voltage transmission lines. But in some cases, this distance may be much shorter. For the smaller distribution power lines that run close to your home, a safe distance could be 3 metres or 60 metres.

What are Easements and Rights-of-Way? Easements are nonpossessory interests in real property. More simply, an easement is the right to use another's property for a specific purpose. Rights-of-way are easements that specifically grant the holder the right to travel over another's property.

An easement held by an electricity provider allows it to erect and maintain electric power equipment on your land. The easement gives the electric power company the right to use a property for this specific purpose only.

BPA does not recommend that anyone attempt to calculate how close they can come to a power line. As a general precaution, when under a line, never put yourself or any object any higher than 14 feet above the ground. The National Electrical Safety Code specifies a minimum safe clearance for each operating volt- age.

A transmission line usually is centered in the right-of-way. The width of a right-of-way depends on the voltage of the line and the height of the structures, but can be 75 to 150 feet or more depending on the type of facilities planned for or located on the right-of-way.