The Cooperative’s integrated vegetation management program is designed to provide safety for the public and reliability for the electric service to our members.
Safety: Trees or other vegetation growing near electric distribution lines poses a major threat to the safety of humans or animals in the vicinity of the electric lines. Normal operating voltages of the electric lines ranges from 7,200 Volts to 14,400 Volts in various portions of the Cooperative’s distribution system. Contact between a human being and a tree touching the electric lines, or even the ground near the base of the tree, can result in serious injury or even death. It is imperative that the Cooperative maintain safe clearances between our electric lines and all forms of vegetation.
Reliability: Contact between a tree and the Cooperative’s electric lines typically causes a large amount of fault current to rush from the electric lines through the tree to the earth’s surface. This fault current causes a fuse or breaker device to de-energize the line. That results in members’ electricity being out of service until the Cooperative’s crews can get on-site, remove the tree from the line, patrol the line for any additional safety hazards, and re-energize the line. Other than transmission supply outages, trees are the number one cause of outages for Cooperative members. Outages create inconvenience, economic hardship, and even dangers for affected members.
What is the Right-of-Way? The Right-of-Way (ROW) is a 30-foot-wide strip of land centered on the pole line of the Cooperative’s electric lines. The Cooperative generally has an easement in place with each landowner that defines the Cooperative’s rights and responsibilities within the ROW. The Cooperative has an obligation to maintain the poles and wires as well as the vegetation within the ROW. The Cooperative also has an obligation to repair any damage done to landscaped and maintained areas within the ROW if the Cooperative does damage in the performance of their other duties within the ROW.
Vegetation Management
Vegetation Management Practices
Herbicides Used in Vegetation Management
Vegetation Management Equipment
Vegetation Management Member Notifications
Vegetation Management Investment of Time and Dollars
Member Roles in Vegetation Management
Coming Soon...Vegetation Management Maps & History