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Vegetation management balances power reliabilit y with scenic beaut y
Vegetation management The single major cause of power outages is damage to power lines from trees and limbs during severe weather such as high winds, heavy snow, ice, or lightning. With more than 8,000 miles of power lines to protect, Blue Ridge Energy works year-round on vegetation management to ensure members have the most reliable electricity possible. While Blue Ridge ranks among the most reliable electric providers, your cooperative has added another method to help achieve reliability in a safe, environmentally friendly manner:aerial tree pruning. This method utilizes trained helicopter pilots who carefully conduct pruning along rights-of-ways. Trained employee “spotters� are located on ground level and are in constant communication with the pilot. Used by utilities across the nation for years, aerial tree pruning is approved by the American National Standards Institute. The process is less intrusive to member property and the environment than traditional methods. As with all vegetation management, members are notified in advance of pruning. Debris is removed from maintained areas, while in non-maintained areas, debris is either left or bush hogged to the ground. Our vegetation management program combines several growth control methods that balance scenic beauty with safe, reliable electricity. For more information, visit BlueRidgeEnergy.com>Resources>Trees, Rights-of-Ways and Reliability.
Vegetation management occurs in rightsof-way. A right-of-way is a strip of land along either side of power lines. It helps protect the lines and allows line technicians to work safely to build and maintain the power system to ensure members receive reliable electricity.
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