From Helicopters to Hand Saws: Inside Utility Vegetation Management
What’s great about the electric utility industry is just how many different careers it includes. Sure, power engineers are a big part of the picture; they're the ones who design, maintain, and help run the grid. And then there are lineworkers, the true first responders out in the field, building, fixing, and restoring power when it goes out. But beyond those well-known roles, the industry is powered by a huge variety of professionals, dozens of distinct roles—all working to keep the lights on.
Another sector that T&D World started comprehensively covering years ago was vegetation management. Over the years, we have watched (and written about) how this discipline has changed and emerged and is even more entrenched in the utility industry now due to the increasing severity of wildfires.
T&D World partnered with the International Arborist Society over a decade ago when we first started our Vegetation Management Resource Center website along with our Vegetation Management newsletter, and shared links to many of the society’s whitepapers. We also had already been publishing a yearly Vegetation Management supplement in partnership with the Utility Arborist Association. We are proud to be one of the only utility industry media brands that cover this segment so thoroughly.
A utility vegetation manager can have a lot of variety even within one role. One of NM Group’s managers shared his experience in a Q&A recently: One day, you might be up in a helicopter, flying along transmission corridors. The next, you're meeting with frustrated customers, listening to their concerns about how their trees were trimmed near power lines. You're also out in the field visiting crews, doing audits, checking quality, and making sure people are notified before work begins. And then there's the office side—reviewing budgets, planning trim schedules, putting together bid packages, and keeping safety front and center for the whole team.
Tree trimmers, often part of vegetation management crews, are also be at the front lines after storms; clearing fallen trees, broken limbs and vegetation. They create safe work zones for other utility workers, as well as enable access so bucket trucks and diggers can get to damaged areas. They are part of the strike team.
So, vegetation management could be a great career path for someone who craves variety and excitement. They often have a background in arboriculture or forestry and then will become certified through ISA or UAA.
The Evolution of Utility VM
Among a continuing flurry of executive orders, President Trump signed one to boost logging on federal lands. Some people believe that this could help with wildfire mitigation. But in covering utility VM for many years, I know it’s more complicated than that.
Many scientists agree that many federal forests are in rough condition. Years of aggressive wildfire suppression and logging have changed the makeup of our forests. Instead of the large, fire-resistant old-growth trees that used to dominate, we’re now left with dense thickets of smaller trees and shrubs. On top of that, many trees are stressed or dying because of disease, insect outbreaks, and drought—issues that are only getting worse with climate change. So maybe some SMART selective logging could help. It remains to be seen, however, whether this will be an educated and organized process, particularly with how complicated everything in America is, and how complex federal processes can be.
Scott Stephens, a fire ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley, told Science magazine that forest health problems have “been discussed ad nauseum since 2000. Federal initiatives have come, good ideas have come, and this [problem] continues.”
Utility vegetation managers know that’s just one part of the picture, and the public and politicians often underestimate or don’t understand how much work and research our industry puts into vegetation management, wildfire mitigation and environmental sustainability.
Not only that, but they have adapted and evolved as conditions and technology have changed. A decade ago, outages and customer complaints were really the primary concerns; now it’s preventing catastrophic wildfires, especially in high-risk areas.
Some of the processes have changed as well. Utilities used more time-based trim cycles a few years ago but are now adopting risk-based or condition-based strategies.
They have also dealt with increased regulation and oversight with the increase in wildfires; compliance hasn’t necessarily gotten easier, but it’s an important part of the job.
But one of the biggest changes has come in technological advancements. Ten years ago, LiDAR was still emerging in vegetation management a decade ago and wasn’t widely adopted. Now LiDAR, satellite and drone imagery are common for mapping vegetation and assessing clearance around lines. AI and machine learning, and GIS tools are also being put to good use. One of our recent Line Life podcasts explored the impact of AI, virtual reality and augmented reality on utility vegetation management and the electric utility industry.
We continue our tradition of covering vegetation management in this month’s special supplement featuring wildlife conservation, SMUD and ROWs, and other new technologies and best practices. I always like looking at this issue with all the plants, flowers AND power lines.
