Typically, the amount and type of pruning that is necessary is based on:
At Farmers Electric Cooperative, our vegetation management team seeks to use an integrated vegetation management approach and industry best practices to keep power reliable while promoting compatible vegetation, such as pollinator habitat and low growing shrubs. Farmers Electric follows guidelines that minimize tree stress while maintaining the delivery of reliable electric service to the communities that Farmers serves.
Directional pruning removes branches growing toward the conductors while leaving those growing away. Directional pruning is the most appropriate way to prune trees for electric utility line clearance.
Trees growing directly under conductors may appear U- or V-shaped. Trees growing alongside a conductor or power lines may appear L-shaped, or 1 side may be removed from side pruning. The tree may appear misshapen, especially if you are looking down the street. In general, trees growing close to electric utility lines or facilities will never have the potential to grow with a completely “natural” looking shape.
Installing utility lines underground comes with a very high price tag, coupled with more difficult (and longer) repairs in the event of a power failure. Also, converting an overhead system to underground may do more damage to the root systems of existing trees.
While we attempt to preserve the aesthetic value of trees and vegetation in and around our facilities, during outage situations our primary concerns are reducing fire and electrocution hazards, and providing personal and public safety from falling branches and trees. Following these events, some trees may require additional pruning to meet industry standards.
