PECO is investing $3.8 million in vegetation management along 700 miles of aerial electric lines to improve electric service reliability for about 50,000 customers in Montgomery County. Work began in February and will be completed by the end of August.
Specifically, pruning will be performed in Lower Frederick, Lower Providence, Lower Salford, Marlborough, Perkiomen, Salford, Skippack, Upper Frederick, Upper Merion, Upper Providence, Upper Salford, West Norriton and Worcester townships. In addition, pruning also will be performed in the boroughs of Collegeville, Green Lane, Limerick, Royersford, Schwenksville and Trappe.
“Vegetation growth causes about one-third of all electric outages,” said Alex Brown, PECO manager of Vegetation Management. “Preventive pruning around aerial power lines is vital to safely keeping the lights on for our customers.”
In 2014, PECO will invest about $35 million vegetation management work around approximately 2,400 miles of aerial power lines along the PECO electric distribution and transmission system.
PECO’s vegetation management crews are trained in arboricultural pruning techniques, as defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standard. This standard takes into account the type and location of the tree, its relation to overhead equipment and overall health of the tree. PECO notifies property owners prior to work beginning in each community. Customers in areas where line clearance work is completed experience fewer outages and a significant improvement in electric service reliability.
