Jurisdiction: The Commission has jurisdiction over the safety of overhead and underground electric and communications line construction of all investor-owned utilities, co-ops and municipalities. See the State of California Public Utilities Code, Sections 315, 768, 8037, and 8056.
Regulations: General Order No. 95 "Rules for Overhead Electric Line construction"
General Order No. 128 "Rules for Construction of Underground Electric Supply and Communication Systems"
General Order No. 165. "Inspection Cycles for Electric Distribution Facilities"
PUC & CDF have prepared a brochure that provides basic information on trees near power lines. You can download this brochure in MS Word format.
Enforcement: The USRB administers the Commission's electric safety program by auditing utility maintenance and inspection programs for their overhead and underground electric facilities required by Rules 31.1 and 31.2 in GO 95 and 17.1 and 17.2 in GO 128, and for electric distribution utilities, their inspection program required by GO 165. If violations are found, citation letters listing the violations are issued asking the utilities involved to take corrective actions. Follow-up audits may be conducted to verify compliance.
History: Rule 12.3 in both GO95 and 128 provides that the rules contained in the general orders are not retroactive. Therefore in order to determine if a particular facility is in compliance with the rules, one must know the age of the facility and whether any reconstruction has taken place. Then the rules that were in effect at the time the facility was constructed are applied. To determine what rules were in effect at any time in the past, the USRB has compiled a research tool that contains all Commission Resolutions and Decisions effecting changes to the various rules. Many of these documents also contain the rationale for the change.
Other: The USRB also conducts accident investigations where electric or communication utility facilities may be involved, responds to safety related complaints, reviews current safety regulations, recommends development of safety standards, and participates in Commission workshops and proceedings on electrical safety matters.