Utility Easements

At Flathead Electric Cooperative, delivering electricity to our members isn’t just about poles and wires—it’s about partnership and cooperation. Easements comprise one of the most essential elements of this cooperative partnership. Here’s what to know:

Utility Easements

A utility easement is a legal right allowing a utility to access certain portions of privately owned land, above and below ground, for the installation, maintenance, repair, and operations of utility infrastructure. Such easements are established through agreements between property owners and utility providers and are recorded in public land records. In Montana, utility easements are governed by Title 70, Chapter 17 of the Montana Code Annotated.

Utility easements often follow designated easement strips along established property lines, roads, or utility corridors. At other times, these easements simply follow the easiest access among power infrastructure points. In either case, utility easements are usually, but not always, in place before a property is sold or developed. In the greater Flathead, the invisible boundaries that separate one property from another can change frequently. As parcels are resized, bought, developed, and sold, easements remain. This is because they “run with the land,” meaning they remain in place even when property is sold. Generally, this permanence saves everyone time and money.

Driveway Easements vs. Utility Easements

A driveway or access easement gives an adjoining property owner the right to cross another’s land to reach their own property. These easements are limited in scope, often negotiated between private parties, and are tied to the specific need for ingress and egress. They may also carry conditions, such as shared maintenance responsibilities or restrictions on use.

A utility easement, by contrast, is broader in its impact and serves the public interest rather than one neighbor. It ensures reliable access to infrastructure that powers entire neighborhoods, schools, and businesses. Utility easements grant utilities the right to install, inspect, and repair equipment without needing to renegotiate access each time. Utility easements benefit the entire cooperative membership and community by keeping the electric grid safe, resilient, and equitable.

Prescriptive Easements for Utilities

In the rush to electrify Montana starting in 1938, utility easements were not always properly recorded.

Today, when your Co-op discovers that a utility easement is not in place, we work with the landowner to record that easement, which generally already exists by operation of law. Such easements are called prescriptive easements. They arise when a utility has openly, notoriously, and continuously used a portion of privately owned land for at least five years without express written permission. Under Montana law, that continuous use may create a legal right to access and use that land for utility purposes—even if no document was ever formally signed.

Easements as a Membership Responsibility

New easements sometimes must be granted to extend electric service. Granting utility easements is part of the cooperative spirit of membership. Access to property is required as a responsibility of membership by Article IV, Section 1(A) of the Co-op’s bylaws, which recognizes that all members share both the privileges and responsibilities of supporting a reliable electric system. By honoring easement requests, members are upholding not just a legal obligation, but also a shared commitment to community resilience.

Utility Easements Are a Part of a Healthy Grid

When utility easements are in place, workers can respond to outages and perform routine maintenance quickly and safely. Unclear easements can delay service restoration, increase costs, and pose safety risks. Easements also allow your Co-op to plan for system improvements and support energy interconnections. This allows the electric distribution system to operate smoothly and equitably for all members.

Utility Easements Do Not Cloud Your Title

Utility easements generally do not cloud your title because they do not affect your ownership of your property. Instead, they are a stable, long-term protection of critical infrastructure.

A Shared Commitment

As a cooperative, Flathead Electric belongs to the members it serves. By working together to formalize access to critical utility corridors, we all hold up a system that’s reliable, cost-effective, and responsive—now and for generations to come.