Quick answer
Clearing trees from the service line to your house is the owner's job: PECO trims around its distribution lines, not the drop that runs from its line to your home. The safe order is to ask PECO for a make-safe at least two weeks ahead, then have the limbs cut. A limb already lying on a live line is a call to PECO first.
Who trims what along the wires
Two kinds of overhead line reach most houses. Distribution lines run pole to pole along the street or alley, and the utility keeps trees off those. The service drop is the single cable from the pole to the weatherhead on your house, and branches growing around it are left to you and whoever you hire.
Working near an energized drop is not ordinary trimming. A wet branch, a metal pole saw or a falling limb can carry current, so the job starts with PECO making the drop safe. Our guide to what PECO handles near power lines covers the split in more detail.
What service line trimming includes
- A look at the drop and every limb that crowds it
- Help with what to say when booking the PECO make-safe
- Our work date set inside the make-safe window
- Limbs around the drop cut back to side branches
- Pieces near the wire tied off and lowered away from it
- Room opened around the weatherhead
- Branches eased off cable and phone lines
- Brush chipped and hauled away
- A note of any wire damage worth reporting
Service drop clearance
The drop often threads through the lower canopy of a street tree or a backyard maple. You notice it when the wire sags into the leaves or rubs a branch bare in the wind. A limb resting on it can stretch the line or snap it in an ice storm. Once the drop is safe we cut the crowding limbs back to side branches, and a full trim of the rest can happen the same day.
Scheduling a utility make-safe
PECO asks for a make-safe request at least two weeks before the work. We tell you what to mention, the address, the tree and where the drop runs, and set our date to match. On the day, the drop is made safe, we trim, and the utility finishes its side. Ask PECO whether the make-safe leaves you without power for a stretch, so you can plan around anything that needs it.
Limbs near cable and phone lines
Cable, internet and phone wires hang below the power drop and belong to the companies that run them, not PECO. They carry far less voltage, but a limb resting on one can rip it off the house. We prune around them gently, and if a line comes loose, its own company reattaches it. A branch tangled in both kinds of wire is a power job, like a broken limb resting on a wire.
Why the wire matters in a Philadelphia storm
Trees on wires sit behind several of PECO's largest outages. The February 2014 ice storm cut power to about 713,800 customers, the March 2018 nor'easter about 598,800, and the June 2020 derecho about 453,700, with four deaths blamed on falling trees. Isaias took out about 402,400 that August, and the Juneteenth 2025 storms left roughly 327,000 customers dark as trees fell onto lines. PECO keeps trees off its distribution lines in Philadelphia, but the service line to your house is yours.
How clearing the drop works, start to finish
You call us
Tell us where the wire runs and what it touches.
We look at the drop
We check which limbs crowd the line.
Request the make-safe
You ask PECO at least two weeks ahead.
Set the date
Our trim is booked inside that window.
Drop made safe
PECO handles the line before any cut near it.
Trim and lower
Limbs cut to side branches and roped away from the wire.
Clean up
Brush chipped, yard raked, wire concerns passed on to you.
Why this is one to leave alone
Plenty of small trimming is fair game for a homeowner. Branches around the electric drop are not.
| Doing it yourself | Having us do it | |
|---|---|---|
| Touching the line | A pole saw, ladder or wet limb against the drop can carry current to you. | Cutting starts only after the drop is made safe. |
| How limbs move | A cut branch can spring up into the wire or drop across it. | Each limb near the line is roped away from it. |
| The make-safe step | Easy to skip, and skipping it is how people get hurt. | We tell you what to request and match our date. |
| Cable and phone wires | Yanking a limb off can tear the line from the house. | We cut around them and leave the wires in place. |
What service line trimming costs
No survey prices drop clearance on its own, so a Philadelphia hourly crew rate is the nearest planning number.
- 01
How tangled the drop is. A few twigs near the wire is quick; a drop threaded through the crown means slow rigging.
- 02
Make-safe timing. Working inside the utility's window means a fixed date rather than a flexible one.
- 03
Tree size. A small tree under the drop takes far less time than a tall maple with the line through it.
- 04
Other wires. Cable and phone lines in the same limbs add cuts that have to be made gently.
- 05
Trimming added on. Clearing the drop during a full trim avoids paying for setup twice.
| Job | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Tree crew, Philadelphia hourly | $240 to $310 per hour | HomeBlue, 2025 |
Planning numbers from published surveys, not our prices. We price after seeing the tree.
Service line trimming questions
No. PECO trims trees threatening its distribution lines, not along the service line from its line to your home. That clearance falls to you or your contractor.
PECO asks for the request at least two weeks before the work. Call us first if you like, so the trim date and the make-safe line up.
Stay away from the branch and the wire, keep others back, and call PECO first. Once the line is made safe, call us to cut the branch off.
Yes. When those wires run clear of the power drop, we prune around them without a make-safe, taking care not to pull them off the house.
It removes the limbs most likely to drag the wire down in wind or ice. It cannot stop a whole tree from falling across the line.
Related work around wires and houses
Broken & Hanging Limb Removal
Snapped branches hung up in the crown, brought down before they drop on their own.
Tree Trimming
Cleaning, thinning and shaping that keeps a shade tree healthy and out of the way.
Crown Raising & Clearance Pruning
Lifting low limbs off sidewalks, driveways, parked cars and the lawn.
Roof & House Clearance Trimming
Branches pulled back from roofs, gutters, siding and chimneys.
Limbs around the wire to your house?
Call and describe where the line runs. We will explain the make-safe request, set a date to match it, and clear the branches.