By Mark Belknap | Director of Vegetation and Environmental Management
Trees provide many benefits to where we live and work. These benefits range from ecological and monetary, to aesthetic and sociological.
Benefits increase as trees mature and get larger. However, as trees age and get bigger, they are more likely to shed limbs and develop decay or other conditions that can increase the likelihood of a failure.
As your electric cooperative, how do we strike a balance between the risk that a tree can pose to the power grid and the many benefits that we derive every day from trees? Enter the concept of Tree Risk Management and Assessment.
Most trees are located where the potential consequences of a failure are minor. But when trees are located along power lines, consequences of a tree conflict can be significant or even severe. This is the reason we constantly inspect and maintain the rights-of- way for potential problems before they result in an outage or damage to the system.
Aside from the obvious, a dead tree, what else do we look for. First, we look for possible defects in a tree like codominant limbs, weak attachment points, signs of decay or root issues.
Then we analyze the relationship between the defect and the size and presence of the power line. Consequences of a failure on a large transmission line or a 3-phase circuit would impact many times the number
of members compared to a single service wire.
Finally, we look at ways to mitigate the risk of a defect. Sometimes just removing dead limbs or tree limbs close to the wire is enough to lower the risk of contact without having to eliminate the entire tree.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you’re out in the yard, take a quick look at your trees. You may be more likely to notice a split or cracked limb over the wires, or a large dead limb. When planting trees this spring, remember to put tall growing species away from the edges of the right-of-way. And don’t forget our Member Appreciation/Arbor Day event on Saturday, April 26. There will food and demonstrations, and we will be giving away thousands of bare root seedlings. It will be a good time, rain or shine, so come on out and enjoy!
Mark Belknap is the Director of Vegetation and Environmental Management at A&N Electric Cooperative. He has degrees in Wildlife Management and Forest Resource Management from West Virginia University. He is a wildlife biologist, certified arborist, certified arborist utility specialist, licensed professional forester, and Habitat Chair for the newly formed Coastal Virginia Chapter of Quail Forever.