The lines and hardware on the structures must be inspected and maintained. Crossarm braces and weather-resistant poletops are added when necessary. Line specialists replace 600 to 800 insulators each year due to vandalism, breaking or cracking. Glass insulators are replaced with polymer devices that cannot be easily broken by gunshot vandalism. The line crews also assist with radio-controlled and manual switches.
Switches receive a complete service once or twice a year.
Our tree-related outages have been reduced. We think our program is working well and we're seeing improved results. Copyright 2001 Hoosier Energy REC, Inc.