A well-maintained right-of-way increases system reliability and is necessary to keep our employees, members and community safe.

Trees and Power Lines: Our Focused Solution

For the safety of our members, our communities and our employees, Tri-County Electric Cooperative is ramping up our vegetation management efforts. This program has two parts:

Preventative Maintenance: Work completed by our vegetation crews in a general area. Typically, this type of maintenance allows for more productivity because crews can trim an entire line to meet industry and system standards.

Service Tickets: Work completed by our vegetation crews in response to a request from our line crews or you, our members. These may also involve preventative trimming, but they are for a specific location.

We are trimming more than ever. Tri-County Electric Cooperative is ramping up vegetation management efforts and following industry standards for right-of-way maintenance to provide a safe and reliable flow of power and prevent outages.

Why we Trim Trees

Trees are beautiful and help our environment, but they are also good conductors of electricity. Tree branches growing into power lines are a fire danger and one of the major causes of outages. To prevent this, Tri-County Electric Cooperative works to maintain the right-of-way for you, our members.

Good vegetation management allows our line crews to see and access lines, spot possible issues, and restore power faster. Lines that are not properly trimmed, cleared and maintained make their job more difficult and dangerous, and pose a threat to our communities.

We can't control the weather, but a good vegetation management program can help reduce outages. From small limbs that cause "blinks" to big branches that can bring down lines and poles, vegetation management is a vital part of safe and reliable power delivery system.

Tri-County Electric Co-op's Responsibility

Preventative maintenance, as well as responding to tree trim requests, is part of our commitment to you, our members. Our vegetation crews clear and trim trees in the right-of-way throughout the system at no extra cost to our members. Crews are guided by licensed arborists who determine the best practices for the trees and for our system.

We will trim, prune and remove trees that encroach on our distribution system. Licensed arborists will determine the best method for both the tree and system reliability.

The Member's Responsibility

There are a few ways you can help with right-of-way maintenance. Together, we can make sure our right-of-ways are clear and we stay safe.

Please never trim your own trees that are close to or touching electric wires. Contact us or submit a tree trim request and our crews will safely trim your trees.

Planting

Planting trees and landscaping is an investment. Proper planning and tree selection will protect your landscape and keep it beautiful for years to come. Here are a few ways to make sure your landscaping is compatible with safe power delivery:

• If you are planning a landscaping project, always call 811 before you dig.
• Inspect your area before you plant. Make sure to leave at least 10 feet between vegetation and any electric equipment - including pad-mount transformers, also known as the "big green box."
• Never plant trees under power lines.

Trimming and Safety

• Remember, branches near or in power lines can be dangerous.
• If your tree has grown into the power lines, please do not trim yourself. Please let us know by calling our offices at 817-444-3201 or submitting a request for a tree trim.
• Never climb a tree that is near or contacting a power line.

Power Planting Resources

Tri-County Electric Cooperative knows our members and communities value trees and vegetation. We also know reliable electric service is a priority. Use these planting guides next time you plan a landscaping project to put the power of planting in your hands!