Richard Essex/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - The state is telling a local utility company to stop trimming trees on private land.
Charlie Goodman says the trees on his block have been radically cut back, including one on his own property.
"I came home one day and the entire side of the tree was just cut top to bottom in half," he said.
Indianapolis Power and Light told him they needed to trim the tree to protect their power lines.
"I don't want anybody on my property. If you need it trimmed, I will have it trimmed myself," Goodman said.
In Indiana, power companies routinely cut back trees that are in a right-of-way or in an easement owned by the utility company. Goodman's tree, however, was on private property, outside of the easement.
According to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, IPL is the only utility in the state that trims trees on private property and the IURC allowed them to do it.
"This is what they wrote and put right in here," Goodman said, reading from a court filing from the commission. "'Including the right to trim and remove trees located on customer's property, as, in the company's judgment, are reasonably necessary to the operation and maintenance of such facilities'."
If a customer fails to provide access, the company can shut off their power.
"That when you agree to take electricity, that you signed a contract that allows them to shut off your electricity if you don't allow them access to your property to maintain the facilities in any way or shape they want to," Goodman said.
After four years of fighting to have this changed, the IURC suspended IPL's trimming practices on private land until the commission can take a better look at the practice. Eyewitness News contacted IPL, but they said they do not comment on cases which are pending before the regulatory commission.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission could make a permanent ruling on IPL's tree-trimming practices by late spring.
