January 2014
matters MEMBERSHIP
A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FROM BLUE RIDGE ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION
This is the first of a series of articles discussing vegetation management.
Vegetation management helps ensure reliable, safe electricity Severe weather that involves ice, wind and lightning — resulting in damage to trees and power lines — is the major cause of outages. With more than 8,000 miles of power lines to protect, your electric cooperative works yearround on our vegetation management program to ensure members enjoy the most reliable electricity possible. This effort has also placed Blue Ridge among the best performing utilities in the nation for reliability.
to ensure you receive reliable electricity. The majority of our system is made up of distribution lines, which carry power from substations to homes and businesses. The right-of-way for this type of line is a total of 30 feet (15 feet on each side).
Blue Ridge Electric is a unique cooperative in that we must also build and maintain our own transmission system. These high voltage power lines deliver electricity from Tree contact with power lines is the our supplier in the foothills to reach our mounsingle leading cause of outages . . . tain district members. Vegetation management occurs in our The right-of-way for these lines ranges rights-of way. What is a right-of-way? from a total of 100 to 250 feet, dependIt’s a corridor — or strip of land — ing on the voltage of the line. along either side of power lines that allows our linemen to work safely to Many people don’t know that power build and maintain the power system lines carrying electricity can energize
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anything or anyone that gets too close to the line, including a tree or tree limb, ladder, or even a wet kite string. Maintained rights-of-way help ensure that trees don’t get close enough to power lines to energize them, and while this helps keep electricity reliable, it also helps keep people and even animals from being electrocuted or severely injured. Our vegetation management program combines several methods to control growth — all with the goal of balancing the beauty of our area while ensuring safe, reliable electricity. In next month’s newsletter, we’ll discuss these innovative methods and how this approach benefits members.
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