GO 95 Rules for Overhead Electric Line Construction

California’s General Order 95 is the California Public Utilities Commission rule that sets minimum safety standards for every overhead power line and communication cable in the state, and the GO 95 rules for overhead electric line construction cover poles, crossarms, insulators, conductors, clearances from buildings and the ground, vegetation around wires, and the inspection and repair of defects.¹ It applies to investor-owned utilities such as PG&E, Southern California Edison, and San Diego Gas & Electric, to municipal and cooperative utilities, and to cable and telephone companies that share pole space.² Underground facilities fall under a separate rule, General Order 128.³

What GO 95 Governs

GO 95 covers overhead electrical supply and communication facilities under CPUC jurisdiction, located outside of buildings. The rules reach poles, towers, crossarms, insulators, conductors, wires, and the hardware that fastens them together.²

The standards are a floor, not a ceiling. Rule 31.1 requires that systems be designed, built, and maintained for their intended use and for local conditions, and if a known local condition demands more than GO 95’s minimum, the utility has to meet the higher standard.⁴

Clearance Distances for Wires

Keeping specific distances between energized wires and everything around them is one of GO 95’s core safety mechanisms. Rule 37 directs utilities to Table 1, which lays out minimum vertical and horizontal clearances based on line voltage, the type of surface below, and whether the line passes near a structure.⁵ All clearances are measured at 60°F with no wind, so real-world sag during hot weather and swing during wind can shrink the effective gap.

Horizontal distance from a building shows how voltage drives the numbers. A communication conductor needs just 3 feet of horizontal clearance from a building. A line carrying 750 to 22,500 volts needs 6 feet. A line in the 300 to 550 kilovolt range needs 15 feet. Vertical clearance above walkable surfaces on a building follows the same pattern: 8 feet at or below 750 volts, 12 feet between 750 and 22,500 volts, and 20 feet for 300 to 550 kilovolt lines.⁶ If you are planning construction, an addition, or even a tall structure like a flagpole near overhead lines, confirm your project maintains these distances.

When power lines and communication cables share the same pole, Table 2 sets how far apart they must sit vertically. Communication conductors have to be at least 48 inches below supply lines carrying up to 7,500 volts, and at least 72 inches below supply lines carrying 7,500 volts or more.⁷ That gap protects cable and telephone technicians who work below the power zone.

Service Drops to Your House

The low-voltage wire running from the utility pole to your house is called a service drop, and Rule 54.8 gives it its own clearance numbers. Over a private driveway or any part of residential property accessible to vehicles, the drop must hang at least 12 feet above ground. That number falls to 10 feet if the wire is insulated and meets specific design standards. Over areas accessible only to pedestrians, the minimum is 12 feet, reduced to 8 feet 6 inches for qualifying insulated lines.⁸ A sagging service drop that a truck, trailer, or ladder could snag is a legitimate safety complaint.

Vegetation Around Power Lines

Trees and overhead power lines are a dangerous combination, and Rule 35 places the responsibility for managing that risk on the utility. Utilities must maintain minimum radial clearance between bare line conductors and vegetation. For supply conductors up to 750 volts, the minimum from tree branches is 18 inches. For higher-voltage lines in the 22.5 to 300 kilovolt range, the standard minimum is also 18 inches, but inside a High Fire-Threat District that number jumps to 48 inches.⁹

Beyond those minimums, utilities are expected to account for species growth rate, span length, fire risk, and planned maintenance cycles when deciding how aggressively to trim.¹⁰ Rule 35 also requires utilities to remove dead, rotten, or diseased trees that could fall into power lines when the utility has actual knowledge of the hazard.¹¹

Property owners sometimes refuse to let utility crews onto their land. Rule 35 addresses that directly. A utility is not held non-compliant if it made a good-faith effort to obtain permission and was denied. A good-faith effort means at least one attempted personal contact plus a written communication with documentation of mailing or delivery. The written notice can warn the property owner that the utility may seek to recover costs and liabilities caused by its inability to trim.¹¹ If you block trimming near high-voltage lines, the risk shifts back to you.

Poles, Crossarms, and Hardware

GO 95’s Section IV sets minimum strength requirements for the physical structures holding everything up. Poles, towers, crossarms, insulators, and conductor fastenings must support their own weight plus the weight of the wires, plus any additional load from ice, wind, or elevation differences between supports. Every crossarm must also be designed to handle an additional 200-pound load at its outer pin position, accounting for a worker standing at the end during maintenance.¹²

Rule 44 establishes safety factors, the minimum ratios between a material’s ultimate strength and the maximum stress it would see under the worst anticipated conditions. For wood poles and crossarms, those safety factors are applied to the modulus of rupture, measuring how much bending force the wood can withstand before breaking.¹³ A pole that leans sharply, shows deep rot at the base, or has a cracked or sagging crossarm is the kind of condition these rules are meant to prevent.

Rule 51.6 requires visible warnings on any pole carrying conductors above 750 volts. The pole must display a HIGH VOLTAGE sign with letters at least 3 inches tall, placed between the level of the lowest high-voltage conductor and no more than 40 inches below it. As an alternative, utilities can use bright yellow bands at least 12 inches wide in the same position.¹⁴ The markings tell you whether a pole carries high voltage, and the pole’s identification tag lets the utility and the CPUC locate the exact structure if you report a problem.

Repair Timelines After a Defect Is Found

Rule 18 requires every utility to maintain an auditable program for inspecting its facilities and fixing what it finds. Defects are sorted into three priority levels, and the repair clock runs much faster in fire-prone areas.¹⁵

Level 1 is an immediate threat to safety or reliability with high probability of significant impact. The utility must take corrective action right away, either by fully repairing the condition or by temporarily stabilizing it and reclassifying it at a lower priority.
Level 2 is a variable-risk condition that is not immediately dangerous but still needs repair. Maximum deadlines depend on location: 6 months for fire-risk violations in Tier 3 of the High Fire-Threat District, 12 months for fire-risk violations in Tier 2, 12 months for conditions that compromise worker safety, and 59 months for all other Level 2 issues.
Level 3 is a minor deviation from GO 95 standards that does not pose significant safety risk but still requires tracking and eventual correction.

So the same type of lower-priority defect can sit for nearly five years outside fire-threat zones, but only six months in Tier 3 fire areas.¹⁵

Stricter Rules in High Fire-Threat Districts

The CPUC maintains a High Fire-Threat District map that divides fire-prone areas of California into tiers. Tier 2 covers areas with elevated risk of utility-related wildfires, and Tier 3 covers areas of extreme risk.¹⁶ If your property sits in a Tier 2 or Tier 3 zone, two things change under GO 95: the required tree clearance around higher-voltage lines expands to 48 inches, and the deadlines for fixing Level 2 fire-risk defects shorten to 12 months (Tier 2) or 6 months (Tier 3). Checking the CPUC’s map tells you which set of rules applies to the lines near you.

How To Report a Suspected Violation

If you spot a hazard involving overhead utility lines, the CPUC recommends starting with your utility provider’s customer service department directly. Many issues, especially vegetation growing into lines or a sagging service drop, move faster through the utility’s own maintenance process. If the utility does not address your concern, you can file an informal complaint through the CPUC’s online portal, which the Commission describes as the fastest way to get a resolution.¹⁷

Before you file, gather a few things:

The pole’s identification tag or number, usually printed on a small metal or plastic tag attached to the pole.
The nearest street address, or GPS coordinates from your phone.
Clear photos from multiple angles showing the problem, whether that is vegetation touching conductors, a leaning or damaged pole, broken hardware, or a wire that looks too close to a building or driveway.
A short description of what you believe is wrong. Pointing to a specific GO 95 rule (clearance, vegetation, structural condition) helps investigators categorize the issue faster, though it is not required.

After you file, the CPUC assigns a caseworker who works with you and the utility to attempt resolution. If the informal process does not resolve the issue, you can escalate to a formal complaint.¹⁷

1
California Public Utilities Commission. Decision 34884 – Adoption of General Order 95
2
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 12 – Applicability
3
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 128 – Rules for Construction of Underground Electric Supply and Communication Systems
4
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 31.1 – Design, Construction and Maintenance
5
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 37 – Minimum Clearances of Wires above Railroads, Thoroughfares, Buildings, Etc.
6
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Table 1 – Minimum Allowable Clearances
7
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Table 2 – Minimum Clearances of Wires from Other Wires
8
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 54.8 – Service Drops, 0-750 Volts
9
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Table 1 – Minimum Allowable Clearances, Cases 13 and 14
10
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Appendix E – Vegetation Management Guidelines
11
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 35 – Vegetation Management
12
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 46 – Vertical Loads
13
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 44 – Safety Factors
14
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 51.6 – Marking and Guarding
15
California Public Utilities Commission. General Order 95 Rule 18 – Reporting and Resolution of Safety Hazards
16
California Public Utilities Commission. Fire-Threat Maps and Fire-Safety Rulemaking
17
California Public Utilities Commission. Utility Complaint