Delmarva Power says customers will benefit from a $14-million effort to trim trees and remove vegetation along more than 1,400 miles of aerial electric lines in 2018.
This work, which will continue through the year, will help maintain reliable service for the energy company’s customers across Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a release stated.
The tree work is sometimes criticized by residents, citing aesthetic reasons. Delmarva stepped up such work after major outages in leafy areas, such as Hockessin.
Tree and vegetation trimming is critical, especially as the company prepares for the summer storm season, where heavy rain and gusty winds can bring down lines, the utility noted.
For the safety of customers and the local community, customers are notified before work begins in their area.
Crews use directional pruning techniques, whenever possible, to help direct tree growth away from equipment while also maintaining the health and beauty of the vegetation, the release stated.
Each year, Delmarva Power partners with the Arbor Day Foundation to provide free trees to residential customers through the Energy-Saving Trees program. This annual initiative helps customers conserve energy and reduce household energy bills through strategic tree planting. Shade trees can reduce residential cooling costs by up to 30 percent, while in the winter months trees reduce wind speeds and infiltration of cold air into homes, reducing heating costs.
Delmarva Power recommends customers follow the Arbor Day Foundation’s “Right Tree in the Right Place” guidelines, which advise that any trees planted within 20 feet on either side of pole-to-pole power lines have a mature height of less than 25 feet.
Thanks to tree-trimming and other programs in Delaware, the number of electric outages has decreased 35 percent over the past five years, while the number of electric outages in the company’s more rural Maryland service area has decreased nearly 30 percent over the same timeframe, Delmarva stated.
