PECO customers in Philadelphia will benefit from a $1.1 million investment to trim trees and remove vegetation along 335 miles of aerial electric lines. This work, currently underway, will be completed by the end of December and will improve electric service for more than 192,000 customers.
This work will occur in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Fairmount, Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia, Queen Village, Spring Garden, Southwest Philadelphia and West Philadelphia.
“Vegetation growth causes about one-third of all electric outages,” said Dave Weaver, vice president of Technical Services. “Our comprehensive vegetation management program is vital to safely keeping the lights on for our customers.”
Each year, PECO invests approximately $500 million to enhance its electric infrastructure, including preventive maintenance and equipment upgrades to provide safe, reliable, affordable and clean energy and energy services to customers. As part of this work, PECO will invest about $41 million in vegetation management work around 3,300 miles of aerial electric lines in 2016.
PECO’s vegetation management crews are trained in arboricultural techniques as defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standard. This standard takes into account the type and location of the tree, its relation to overhead equipment and overall health of the tree. Customers are notified before work begins in their area.
