AKRON, Ohio – Ohio Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is carrying out tree trimming and other vegetation management work across northeast and northcentral Ohio to enhance electric service reliability. The company's $26 million tree-trimming program this year aims to maintain uninterrupted power supply to customers by preventing tree-related outages, particularly during the spring and summer storm season.
A video demonstrating the tree-trimming work can be found on FirstEnergy’s YouTube channel.
Since the start of the year, contractors have trimmed trees along over 600 miles of power lines throughout Ohio Edison’s service area. The company plans to complete an additional 4,200 miles of tree-trimming work by year-end. Similar tasks are performed annually by FirstEnergy transmission companies along high-voltage power lines within the company’s service territory.
Pat Mullin, Acting President of FirstEnergy’s Ohio Operations stated, “Trees are a leading cause of power outages, and we complete tree-trimming work each year to prevent tree-related outages during severe weather. This work, coupled with the extensive upgrades we’ve made to our local power system over recent years, undoubtedly helps minimize the impact of weather-related outages to keep the power flowing safely and reliably to customers.”
Tree trimming is conducted on a four-year cycle. The process includes inspecting vegetation near power lines to ensure trees are pruned in a way that preserves their health while maintaining safe clearances. Trees that pose a danger or are diseased may be removed.
This year's work is being carried out in several counties and communities across Ohio.
As part of its notification process, Ohio Edison collaborates with municipalities to inform them about trimming schedules. Customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are also notified before any vegetation management work commences.
The vegetation management tasks are executed by certified forestry experts under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Davey Tree Expert Company, Nelson Tree Service Inc., Penn Line Service, Townsend Tree Service, and Wright Tree Service.
Helicopters equipped with aerial saws began trimming trees in March to maintain clearances along hard-to-access transmission and distribution corridors throughout Ohio Edison’s service area. The aerial saw is typically used along transmission and distribution lines in areas that may be environmentally sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This method covers more area in a day than a ground crew might complete in a week. The saw also eliminates the risk of injury to workers using bucket trucks or climbing trees to cut limbs near high-voltage equipment.
Ohio Edison serves over 1 million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on X, formerly known as Twitter, @OhioEdison and on Facebook at facebook.com/OhioEdison.
FirstEnergy is committed to integrity, safety, reliability, and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving over six million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The company’s transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and on X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor’s Note: Photos of workers trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. B-roll of the aerial saw in action is available on YouTube.
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