The goal EPB’s Vegetation Management team is to provide excellent customer service and help ensure safe and reliable services by keeping vegetation away from conductors using the latest technology.
Officials said, "We strive to maintain a sustainable balance between our needs as a community and our environment by maintaining a healthy canopy and by minimizing the amount of vegetation that is sent to local landfills. 99.5% of our wood chips are given to customers for gardens, compost, and walking trails etc. That’s about 16 million pounds per year."
According to officials, EPB’s Vegetation Management program has achieved results, including:
· Primary tree related outages reduced from 2,703 in 2009 to 730 so far in 2015. That is an average 14% annual reduction in primary tree outages in five years.
· 46kv tree related outages were reduced from 204 in 2011 to 8 so far in 2015. This is on track for 20% annual reduction again this fiscal year.
EPB has about 3,500 miles of primary electric conductor with fiber running beneath power lines.
EPB is responsible for the coordination and management of seven groups of contractors with about 125 people. This includes utility foresters and certified arborists, as well as highly skilled and experienced workers.
EPB and its contractors work in a three-year cycle:
· About 400 trees are touched per day, about 107,000 trees in 2014.
· The team trims 1,200 miles per year or 3,500 miles in about three years.
Officials said, "The job begins with planning – crews scout trees and mark for trimming or removal based on species and growth rates. We knock on every door to notify property owners, and if the customer is not home we leave a door hanger in English and Spanish. The information is tracked and entered into a computer data base.
"We use new equipment that’s more efficient and less disruptive to the environment:
· Two Jaraffs, with cutting blades on an 80-foot extendable boom which do the work of 10 manual crews.
· Two mini Jaraffs which maneuver in tight spaces and do the work of four manual crews.
· Mini skid steer with forestry cutter is safer, quieter and leaves less debris."
Customers can find more information at www.epb.net/power/home/support/tree-trimming/, and can call 423 648-1372 to schedule an appointment to have trees or vegetation inspected for trimming or removal.