When storms roll through South Jersey and the wind blows, we want you to have peace-of-mind that the trees and vegetation in your community won’t impact keeping your home powered. A key component of our reliability efforts is managing vegetation near transmission and distribution lines and other facilities to prevent outages.

Routine vegetation maintenance occurs every four years, pruning trees to provide clearance from overhead wires and guide tree growth away from power lines. “Remaining on a fixed 4-year preventive maintenance cycle keeps the entire system well maintained from a vegetation clearance perspective,” said Dan Landry, manager of vegetation management. “It also enables a thorough evaluation of tree health and mortality to identify trees that are dying or have died and present a risk to reliability.”

We follow the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) tree pruning guidelines, which is used by nearly all electric utilities in the United States. In our electric transmission rights-of-way, we use vegetation and species that remain lower to the ground to reduce the risk of taller-growing trees and plants impacting equipment. This practice is known as integrated vegetation management (IVM).

Our vegetation management program is overseen by certified foresters and arborists, where we promote native flora and fauna and protect rare species populations. We balance environmental concerns, public needs, safety and cost-effectiveness. We work with federal, state and local authorities to minimize risks while providing you with reliable electric service.

Here’s how our process works:

1. Initial Assessment: We evaluate your property to understand the scope of work.
2. Customer Contact: A member of our team will knock on your door. If you’re not home, we’ll leave a door hanger with all the details.
3. Work Details: We’ll walk you through the planned work, including any necessary tree removals and address structural issues.
4. Scheduling: After finalizing the plan, we schedule the work with our vendors and inform you of timing.
5. Execution: Our team will carry out the work, ensuring your property is safe and well-maintained.

We support the “Right Tree, Right Place” initiative, advocating for planting trees where they will thrive without interfering with power lines.

We have been recognized as a Tree Line USA utility by the Arbor Day Foundation. This acknowledges our dedication to quality tree care, public education and energy conservation. Our longstanding commitments to vegetation management and green infrastructure efforts help stabilize and gradually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

By integrating these practices, we ensure reliable electric delivery for our customers and contribute to environmental sustainability.

To learn more about vegetation management processes, visit atlanticcityelectric.com/Safety.