Choosing a Contractor - Something to think about

Choosing a Contractor:

Hire professionals to prune trees near power lines

·         Only trained professionals should trim trees around power lines. Untrained individuals have been seriously injured – and even killed, in some cases – when they attempted to do this work themselves. When having your trees trimmed or removed, you can arrange to have your power temporarily disconnected or wires temporarily removed by calling us at 1-866-436-7847. In most cases, there is no charge for this service.

·         https://www.fortisbc.com/safety-outages/electricity-safety/power-line-safety#tab-2

Are their workers insured?

Request a clearance letter from Worksafe that will tell you if the contractor is registered and up to date on payments.   https://asmtclr.online.worksafebc.com/Default.aspx?_ga=2.6696370.1610048639.1654977519-262372972.1619472853

What insurance does the contractor carry, and do they have a certified Arborist?

Fortis has concerns about who falls trees that are within 2 tree lengths of any power lines. It is reasonable to ask your contractor to have their insurance company send you a certificate of insurance, and the contractor to send you a copy of an arborist certification.

Yes, insured, fully qualified and equipped contractors cost more, but an uninsured incident is way more expensive.