PECO is investing nearly $2 million in preventive tree pruning along 450 miles of aerial electric lines in Chester County to improve electric service reliability for approximately 24,000 customers. Work is currently underway and will continue through June. Vegetation causes about one-third of all electric outages. Preventive pruning around aerial power lines is vital to providing reliable electric service.
Pruning will be performed in the following Chester County townships: East Fallowfield, East Marlborough, Elk, Franklin, Highland, London Britain, London Grove, Londonderry, New Garden, New London, Penn, Sadsbury, Upper Oxford, West Caln, West Fallowfield, West Marlborough, and West Sadsbury. Work also will be performed in the Boroughs of Avondale, Parkesburg, and West Grove.
“Our goal is to reduce the frequency of tree-related outages and keep the lights on for our customers,” said Alex Brown, manager of Vegetation Management. “Preventive maintenance programs like tree pruning and other vegetation management play key roles in providing the safe and reliable electric service our customers expect.”
In 2012, PECO will invest $28 million in its vegetation management program, which includes tree pruning around approximately 2,800 miles of aerial power lines on the electric distribution and transmission system across the service territory. The program also involves annual patrols of the system and pruning or clearing on a cyclical basis.
