Consumers Energy will clear and remove trees along over 7,000 miles of power lines this year, part of a “stepped-up” commitment to protect electrical equipment and reduce outages through the company’s reliability roadmap.
Three years ago, Consumers Energy started a more aggressive effort to trim trees. Now, the company identifies electrical circuits where trees and vegetation most often lead to power outages and prioritizes them – part of the effort to clear trees and limbs across high- and low-voltage power lines over seven years. This year, Consumers Energy plans to do forestry work on over 7,000 miles of lines, with projections to do more than 7,000 miles a year going forward.
“Line clearing is some of the most visible work that Consumers Energy does every day, but it’s sometimes underappreciated as a cornerstone of our commitment to keeping the lights on for customers,” said Chris Laird, Consumers Energy’s vice president of electric operations. “We’re doing more work today – and we’re being more strategic about that work – than in the past, all to better serve our customers who count on us.”
Line clearing is one of several tactics Consumers Energy employs as it carries out the reliability roadmap it laid out last year. The company’s long-term blueprint aims to combat more severe weather with upgrades in equipment, strategy and technology.
“We have hundreds of Consumers Energy coworkers and Michigan contractors who do this important work, not just in the busy summer months but throughout the year,” Laird said. “It’s important that people understand the relationship between our forestry team’s work and the improvements in electric service that should be so important to everyone in our state.”
In overall utility expenses, vegetation management is the largest line item, with electric utilities spending between $6-$8 billion per year on maintenance for their overhead powerlines, according to the research firm Accenture.
Dry, hot weather isn’t the only concern surrounding vegetation near power lines – extreme weather and storms can still cause arcing and fires, rugged computer provider Getac noted in a blog post. Additionally, the aging infrastructure around the country is causing its own set of problems. A 2015 study found that 70% of U.S. power transmission and distribution lines were over 25 years old, meaning nearby vegetation just adds to the risk that the poles pose.
