re: Utility company employee pepper sprayed a dog in a private back yard and entered without

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I skimmed this but dont see the reason for the entry? Was the employeee using the easement area for entry? If not then I would have a problem with it.

My own situation is that the power at my house comes from the back and TEE's with lines running behind my house (between me and our neighbors) The area where those lines are Alabama Power has a 30' easement. The problem is that they NEVER maintain the area and it is overgrown and impassable.

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That is not how easements work. The property owner still owns the easement, still has to maintain the easement, just cannot build or install permanent structures on it. Fencing is not considered permanent. Utility workers can and will remove landscaping, fencing, and moveable items inside easements to access utilities.

Every property owner signs agreements with utility companies that allows them access to utility owned equipment, mainly the meters. This allows them to read it, change it, and remove it for non-payment, without notifying the property owner. If you have power/water/gas, you signed it.

There is no right to spray a non-threatening dog with pepper spray. But unless there is video evidence, it would be hard to prove that the dog was not threatening to the worker.

I'm so sorry that happened to the dog, but agree about the easement .
We were fortunate where we used to live. At customer request, the utility company would send us an automated message the day before they were coming to read the meter saying they would be coming the next business day and please keep the dog inside. It's that easy...and was appreciated. We also had the same meter reader long term and introduced him to the dog so when he arrived, if the dog did happen to be at the gate, he could say "Hi Harley". Obviously you n eed to know your dog would be friendly or this might not even work.