Utility protection zone (power, gas, water, sewer, telecom)

A protection zone protects networks from damage and people from injury. For energy and communication networks it arises by law on the day the network's building permit becomes final or, where no permit is required, when the network is put into operation; for water mains and sewers the law defines it directly. No entry in the land register is needed, so a zone can apply to a plot even if the title deed extract says nothing about it.

Widths set by law

The zone is measured horizontally on each side from the outermost conductor, cable or pipe:

• underground power lines up to 110 kV: 1 m,
• overhead lines above 1 kV up to 35 kV: 7 m for bare conductors, 2 m for insulated ones, 1 m for aerial cables,
• overhead lines above 35 kV up to 110 kV: 12 m bare, 5 m insulated,
• overhead low-voltage lines up to 1 kV: no protection zone,
• gas pipelines and gas connections up to 4 bar: 1 m within a municipality's built-up area, 2 m outside it; above 4 up to 40 bar 2 m,
• water mains and sewers up to 500 mm in diameter: 1.5 m, above 500 mm 2.5 m,
• underground telecom lines: 0.5 m,
• heat distribution: 2.5 m.

Older lines have wider zones

Under Section 98 of the Energy Act, protection zones in the electricity and heat sectors set under earlier rules remain unchanged. For overhead lines above 1 kV up to 35 kV with bare conductors built before the end of 1994, ČEZ Distribuce's conditions therefore give 10 m instead of 7 m, except in forest clearings.

What applies inside the zone

Building, digging, storing material or planting permanent vegetation requires the consent and conditions of the network owner or operator. Vegetation under an overhead line must not grow above 3 m. Whether a zone reaches a plot is stated in the operator's statement; the exact position is shown by marking out the network before earthworks.

A protection zone is not the same as an easement. An easement or servitude is entered in the land register and gives the right to run a network across someone else's land; a zone arises by law and restricts activities around the network.