Furthermore it is his responsibility to ensure that the program achieves its electric service reliability objective in an economic and customer friendly manner that minimizes the aesthetic impact upon the community s canopy. Utility Forestry is a combination of customer service and vegetation management as it relates to overhead power lines. This means tree trimming in a responsible manner to minimize power outages. The performance of this maintenance tree trimming in a pre-planned and proactive manner will help to prevent tree related outages for a reasonable period of time. Over the Past three and a half years the City has performed two complete trimming cycles of the Electric Utility system, which has resulted in a reduction of tree related outages.
Trees are one of the major causes of power outages.
This may be an instantaneous operation where the lights blink for just a moment and you have to reset all your digital clocks, or it can result in an outage where several customers or even several streets are without power. Tree limbs also provide pathways for squirrels to gain access to the transformers and other facilities on our poles resulting in another major cause of outages, and a major cause of squirrel mortality. That is exactly what City Electric has done. Electric Operation s program of performing an eighteen-month trim cycle has allowed the amount of trimming required to be significantly reduced. This has been accomplished without any increase in the overall costs of the program and has demonstrated a more aesthetically pleasing appearance after the trimming has been performed.