Esb network access

liosnagceann75

An Esb crew accessed a private road through my land earlier on today. The road is used for machinery and dairy cows. The cows travel the road 4 times a day for the 2 milkings. When I approached them about their access I was told that they could access their equipment whenever and wherever they wanted and did not have to inform the landowner beforehand. There are only overhead lines passing through my fields. Is this the norm with Esb crews? The drivers attitude was rude and when asked for ID or his name failed to provide either and drove off.

mozil

https://esbnetworks.ie/docs/default-source/publications/code-of-practice-in-relation-to-access-to-land-andor-premises.pdf?sfvrsn=4

ESB do have a legal right to access private land however a bit of common courtesy is usually the norm

rangler1

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

An Esb crew accessed a private road through my land earlier on today. The road is used for machinery and dairy cows. The cows travel the road 4 times a day for the 2 milkings. When I approached them about their access I was told that they could access their equipment whenever and wherever they wanted and did not have to inform the landowner beforehand. There are only overhead lines passing through my fields. Is this the norm with Esb crews? The drivers attitude was rude and when asked for ID or his name failed to provide either and drove off.

There is a code of practise agreed between IFA and ESB and except in an emergency they're supposed to consult the farmer before they go in

foxy farmer

liosnagceann75 wrote: »

An Esb crew accessed a private road through my land earlier on today. The road is used for machinery and dairy cows. The cows travel the road 4 times a day for the 2 milkings. When I approached them about their access I was told that they could access their equipment whenever and wherever they wanted and did not have to inform the landowner beforehand. There are only overhead lines passing through my fields. Is this the norm with Esb crews? The drivers attitude was rude and when asked for ID or his name failed to provide either and drove off.

Why didn't you go after him up on your high horse? I worked in the ESB back in the 90s and farmers were by far and away the biggest culprits for this BS about trespassing and doing work without notice. Was in a crew once where the landowner came out accompanied by a shotgun. A call to the gardai soon sorted that.
They have a legal right to access the equipment simple as that whether you like it or not. The are not trespassing as they are " licensees of the state"( legal term) and have valid reasons to come onto your property. A call to your door beforehand might be common courtesy but not obligatory. Most of the time the visits are of only a few mins and have no bearing on the general public but could be on safety grounds or switching operations.

liosnagceann75

No horses here. Only dairy cows.

Base price

Unfortunately you had a bad experience with the ESB. I never had an issue with them but OH has.
Where power lines are erected there is a written "way leave" agreement between the landowner and ESB or P&T which allows them access to your land to maintain the lines but they should inform you in advance.

einn32

It depends on the people in the crew. Mostly had good experience with them telling us they were coming on to the land etc. Had some issues with damage to land, grass and spooking of cows but otherwise it was all good. It was in their interest to tell us they were coming on to land as if there were any safety issues we would have to alert them. I would presume engagement with stakeholders would be in the risk assessment for the jobs they would be doing.

Sam Kade

rangler1 wrote: »

There is a code of practise agreed between IFA and ESB and except in an emergency they're supposed to consult the farmer before they go in

They came onto my land one time without asking and the cows were grazing the field they were in, I was gone to a rented farm half an hour earlier and when I came back the cows were gone daft :mad:

rangler1

Sam Kade wrote: »

They came onto my land one time without asking and the cows were grazing the field they were in, I was gone to a rented farm half an hour earlier and when I came back the cows were gone daft :mad:

There's a written agreement there, farmers should be enforcing it.
Only then will esb adhere to it

davidk1394

Had bother here last year. A main line runs through our place and is constantly being checked by the ESB using helicopters. Anyway 1 day last year we were fencing on an out farm and noticed a helicopter flying very low but took no notice. When we got home it was chaos. The helicopter was so low it spooked all the animals and drove sheep and cattle everywhere. We complained to the aviation authority and the ESB. A week later an ESB rep called out unexpected with a boot full of pig tail stakes, temporary wire and a Gallagher geared reel. He was very apologetic about the incident. It was a nice touch. Other than that we never had any problems. Once they closed any gate behind them and kept damage to a minimum we never put in or out on them