KU tree cutting moratorium extended as talks between Lexington, utility giant continue
A moratorium on tree cutting under Lexington transmission lines by Kentucky Utilities will be extended as the city and utility giant continue discussions, city officials said.
KU and the city agreed to a temporary moratorium on tree cutting in early December after the city filed a complaint with the Kentucky Public Service Commission and a civil lawsuit against the utility over its practice of clear-cutting trees over 15 feet under transmission lines. As part of the moratorium, the city agreed to temporarily pause its legal actions against KU.
City officials said the moratorium on tree cutting, set to expire in mid-January, has been extended and talks continue.
“Nancy Albright has had some initial meetings with KU to discuss their cutting policy,” said Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city. “The moratorium is still in place.”
Albright is the city’s commissioner of environmental quality and public works.
Officials with KU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
KU had previously agreed to do a study of the Lakeside area after residents there raised concerns about a host of issues including how trees in that area help reduce stormwater runoff, an ongoing problem in the Lakeside area. That study began Jan. 17.
“KU is studying other possible ‘carve-out’ areas regarding their current policy,” Straub said. “KU has said they will not be ready to meet with the city again until February.”
The city and KU have been at odds over its tree cutting policy since 2020. The utility says it’s necessary to cut trees under transmission lines to maintain power to the system. Over the past six years, one in six outages in the Lexington area were a result of vegetation issues, KU officials have said.
KU has also said that its more aggressive tree cutting policy has resulted in an overall 40 percent reduction in outages throughout its service area.
The city and residents have argued that many trees KU has clear cut are too small to endanger the power line and KU should trim trees rather than ax them.
The issue came to a head when KU began cutting trees in Lansdowne, prompting protests and one protest-related arrest in early December. KU has agreed to cut only the tallest trees in that median and is still working with the city on a re-planting program, Straub said.
