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Clearing rights of way helps keep service reliable, safe
September, 2007
In order to reduce power outages and promote safety, York Electric Cooperative pursues an ongoing right-of- way maintenance program.
Trimming or controlling the trees, brush and undergrowth in the areas surrounding our power lines, or rights of way, helps keep your lights on. Trees or brush that touch electric lines create short circuits, which can cause lights and digital clocks to blink and computerized devices to lose information stored in memory.
Vegetation contacting lines can affect devices the co-op uses on its lines to isolate local outages. These devices protect our lines and equipment as well as the public. If several momentary short circuits occur within a brief period of time — such as limbs touching the power line — outages will follow. Trimming vegetation prevents this from occurring.
During storms, trees often fall across lines causing outages by breaking lines or short-circuiting them. After major storms occur, fallen trees that need to be removed cause widespread outages to last much longer than they would have lasted if the vegetation had been trimmed or removed beforehand.
Staying safe
Even in good weather, safety is a major reason to control vegetation around power lines. Since trees and brush can conduct electricity, if they touch high-voltage wires, the vegetation becomes energized, too. This could be fatal to a child climbing a tree in contact with power lines — or even to someone just touching it.
Keeping safety and service reliability in mind for our members and our employees, the co-op's operations department is always seeking ways to improve York Electric Cooperative's right-of-way maintenance program. We strive to develop the most economical and environmentally friendly approach to controlling vegetation near our lines. If you would like to learn more about your cooperative's right-of-way maintenance program, call us at (803) 684-4248.
September schedule
This year, your cooperative will trim approximately 450 miles of right of way. During September, the Sky Trim machine will be trimming in western York and Hickory Grove.
Our bucket-trimming crews will be working near the Oakridge substation near Cameron, Falls, Eastview, Mockingbird, Rawlinson, Meadow Lakes and Hollis Lakes roads as well as the Northwestern High School area.
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