Regarding maintaining power line right-of-ways, I got a letter from our provider at the end of last year that they would be trimming back trees from the lines. They finally showed up in May of this year to prune the giant unruly magnolia in my front yard that has stuck its branches all through the power lines along the road.
DP&L spent about an hour setting up their cones and gathering their forces to prune this tree. I was waiting to watch and epic of free tree-pruning. I think they cut about 10 twigs and called it a day. I was hard-pressed to notice a difference in the magnolia and the large branches in and around the wires.
When we get hit, it will be my tree or my neighbor's equally unruly sycamore that takes out the power grid for miles around. Chris and I will be the ones who get yelled at by our electricity-less neighbors.