Philadelphia (June 30, 2009) – As one of its most critical initiatives to improve electric service reliability, PECO will begin trimming trees around aerial power lines in North Wales and surrounding communities in Montgomery County. The work will begin in July and last for the next few months.
The nearly $3.7 million project will span 481 miles of utility right-of-way in North Wales, Montgomery, Hatfield, Towamencin, Upper and Lower Gwynedd, Horsham, Worchester, Whitpain, East Norriton, and Lower Salford townships, as well as New Britain Township in Bucks County. For more information on PECO’s vegetation management program, visit www.PECOtreeservices.com.
In all, about 120,000 customers in Montgomery County will benefit from the utility’s tree maintenance this year. The work getting underway is part of PECO’s routine cyclical maintenance schedule. Work also was completed this year in Abington, Collegeville, Colmar, Horsham, Harleysville, Jenkintown, King of Prussia, Norristown, Oaks, Plymouth Meeting, Royersford, Trappe, and Willow Grove.
Overall, PECO will spend $25 million this year for tree maintenance along its transmission and distribution lines that will benefit customers across the Greater Philadelphia region. “With trees as a leading cause of outages, the company’s tree clearance around aerial power lines is vital for maintaining strong service reliability,” said Frank Moffa, PECO manager, vegetation management.
On average, trees cause about one-third of all service interruptions affecting PECO customers, and tree-related outages tend to last longer than most other events. Common problems include fallen tree limbs and uprooted trees contacting power lines, especially during and soon after storms. In recent years, areas where line clearance work is completed experience fewer outages and a significant improvement in reliability.
On the transmission system, PECO must limit the height and type of any trees and vegetation allowed to grow under the high-voltage wires and only low-growing shrubbery or grasses adjacent to the transmission towers to comply with federal electric reliability standards.
PECO’s tree pruning uses methods suggested by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), which considers the type and location of the tree in relation to the overhead wires and the health of the tree. PECO notified municipal officials and property owners in areas where work is beginning in a community. To learn more about tree care, visit www.arborday.org.
The vegetation management program is a key part of PECO’s overall preventive maintenance program, geared to reducing the frequency and duration of outages and improving system performance. Other preventive maintenance programs include patrols of all distribution circuits with infrared thermography, inspections of utility poles, transformers, automated switches and substations, as well as lightning protection and animal protection for utility equipment. For more information about PECO’s reliability programs and projects, visit http://www.PECOreliability.com.