Can MEC legally trim trees?
A. As part of your membership agreement and cooperative rules and regulations, MEC has the right to enter customer’s premises to remove trees or other obstructions that may endanger the proper maintenance and operation of co-ops facilities; to trim or remove dead, diseased, weak or leaning trees or limbs outside of the right of way strip that might interfere with or fall upon the co-op’s facilities. Courts in Tennessee and North Carolina clearly support a public utility’s right to trim and remove trees, both within and outside of the right-of-way.
