We have a power line running through our property. Not long ago an electric company came out cut the chain removed our lock and left their own lock. The easement contract is expired, the electric company never contacted us. Were there any laws broken? What action can/should we take?

They should not have cut your lock off, but instead cut a link in the chain, but I believe they require access for maintenance purpose.

Never heard of an electric easement expiring. If it feeds your property I guess you could not allow access and they could cut off power.

We don't use the electric company that did this. The landowner next to use had a pole put on this place, an they just ran the line over from the pole on our place to his. The problem I'm having is why were we not informed, and they are using a different gate than what was in the easement contract. @ Jkd106 they did cut a link.

Just call the power company and have a field engineer come out to answer your questions.

Unless you have deeper pockets than the power company I would do all your homework first.

I don't think it will hold up even if they were in the wrong.... But I very we'll could be wrong

I think they are able to do that. In January the power company did the same thing to our chain and put in a cheap a$$ lock. Miraculously 3 days after the power co was in there all if our stuff was stolen. We have never been broke into until they put that lock on there. It was in Emory. I called the elec co and gave them a piece of my mind and told them they had someone working there that was stealing. No way to prove it but I still feel it was someone with the co. I told them they better contact us next time they need on our place and I will be watching and td them they step 1 foot over the easement and somebody is getting some bird shot in there [censored].

Given that your neighbors depend on the power that travels through those lines, do you really want to create a stink about a lock that gives power company workers access for maintenance and getting the power back on after storms and such?

We were glad when the power company put locks on our gates as needed to reach the lines and right of ways on our lease. Since we just lease the place for mostly weekend fun, you won't find us trying to make life more difficult on our neighboring landowners.

The most you have is criminal mischief under 50 with no proof or witness who did it.

You have nothing but a customer service complaint to the elec co.

If they have equipment running through your property then there was an agreement at one time. My experience is that those agreement's don't expire or go away. That means that they have access. I don't see anything illegal.

I'd call and talk to someone and try to come to an understanding.

Well thats one I've never heard of. My experience with high lines and pipelines is thats a one time payment for the life of the line. Per rod price plus damages all in a lump sum payment. Were I running either I would never get into that type of contract.

I've seen this happen. Just contact the person running the area, a couple of phone calls will find them, then explain what happened. Probably someone who had never checked that run of line and just needs his supervisor to chew on his butt and get your lock/chain set up straight. Not worth legal issues.

+2...they cut the link, and lock through the link and your lock!.. we have a few locks on our gate.. all linked together.. for a pipeline, electrical..etc..

Bet you and I both would be all over it if we were the landowners though. I have seen limited term easements, but those were on Indian Lands in Oklahoma. Never ran across one down here though.

It seems that the older the easement is, the more ambiguous the terms are.

To the OP, you might have a claim on your title insurance policy if they missed an easement.

I know that easements bought when the original poles are put in are usually cheap because they will work a deal with you for doing your service cheaper or so was the case on our place I found the contract the other day and the easement was sold for 1 dollar but the service drop was dirt cheap.

I can tell you that I work for the power company and there is no easement that expires, and every gate that has a chain gets a link cut out for us to have access...YOU have to alow us access to are easement for maintaince or emergence reasons. Now if we tear stuff up we pay for or get it fixed.

To answer your question your in a loosing battle with that.

Shouldn't that have required a separate easement for the new run? I gave my neighbors one a few years ago when they built a house for their parents down the road a bit from my place to hop off my service drop over to their place.

Funny you mention this...

We went to our place this weekend and when we pulled up to the gate at 11:30 at night it saw that the electric company had cut a link off of the old chain or cut their old lock.

Any how our lock was intact on the end of the chain and now locked out.

I took me about 1/2 hour to cut through the chain with hacksaw

Might be good to put a couple of game cams that don't have flash that can take photos of who use the easement...

Sure. Why not. Not all neighbors are good neighbors. A place we caught rattlesnakes for 40 years sold a few years back. Being good neighbors, we asked permission to go up to the snake den since the place had new neighbors. They told us to stay off the place and that there would be serious problems if they ever caught us at the den. Incidentally, they didn't even know they had a rattlesnake den on the place.
They wouldn't wave on the road when anyone met them and isolated themselves from everyone who had lived in that area for generations. When it came time to build their new home, they came to us and asked if they could bring the electric poles through our place because to go around it would be cost prohibitive. Naturally, we were not inclined to clutter our place with easements/poles/lines and the like to people who would not even speak to us when they passed us on the little dirt roads. I'm sure we were the bad guys in their eyes and maybe even in the eyes of some of some of the touchy-feely types who all just want to get along. Was pretty sweet justice for me to see what all they had to go through simply because they acted a$$e$ as neighbors when they bought the place.

Call Them

Have had this happen with oil field guys, bypassing the daisy chain and double locking. He had done this on purpose because I gave him a ton of grief about dummy locking the gate when he was checking rigs. Had a bunch of cattle get through. So he decided to lock us out of our own place. A few well placed phone calls and now no problems. Electric companies I have never had an issue with, as most are rural co-ops. Member owned and are very respectful of property and easements. Good luck.

They will get to their easements by any means necessary.

I think the OP stated they cut his lock off and put theirs on and it wasn't at the easement gate