Services recently launched the ‘Trees & Lines’ podcast, sharing expert insights into the future of the utility vegetation management industry. The podcast is hosted by utility vegetation management (UVM) veteran and past executive director of the Utility Arborists Association, Dr. Phil Charlton, and COO of Iapetus, Tejpal Singh.
Iapetus Infrastructure Services (Iapetus, pronounced EYE-AP-I-TUHS) offers safety, environmental sustainability, and education in right-of-way (ROW) management services to utilities across the country, including to risk mitigation, inspections, safety, audits, and high-tech imaging and reporting. Iapetus companies currently service the world’s largest utilities, as well as oil and gas and pipeline/midstream.
Iapetusis an operating company of Iapetus Holdings, LLC, a Houston-based privately held portfolio of energy and utility services companies focused on energy sustainability, efficiency, reliability and safety.
Trees and Lines hosts a variety of leaders in UVM. To date, guests include Pam Rauch, VP of External and Government Affairs atNextEra Energy, Sara Sankowich, director of sustainability and shared services at Unitil, John Goodfellow, principal at BioCompliance Consulting, Inc. and Lewis Payne, manager of Rights-of-Way and Environmental Services for the New York Power Authority.
The guests of Trees & Lines share deep experience in the electric and gas utility industries in both the private and public sectors. Several have held positions responsible for vegetation management and forestry, T&D operations, maintenance, and engineering as well as renewables and sustainability.
The episodes also touch on the need to build the pipeline of diverse and qualified foresters and other professionals in numerous fields to keep up with the growing demand in this fascinating industry. Rauch has been part of the lead team that has pioneered many of the advances of the world’s leading utility, NextEra Energy.
Sankowich is currently serving as the president of the New England Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture, ISA. She has had an impact in expanding diversity and inclusion in the UVM industry.
Goodfellow has been the principal researcher on several research and development projects focusing on the modes and causes of trees cause power interruptions. His work has led to better understanding and the risks of tree-initiated electrical faults on overhead electric distribution lines. Payne’s motto is “managing vegetation with vegetation”. He’s an expert on innovative technology, research on biodiverse habitats and sustainability reporting.
According to Dr. Charlton, “This podcast intends to advocate for the highest standards in UVM and look out for what we should be planning for the future of this fascinating industry most people don’t know about”. Singh added, “The idea of inviting thought leaders in this space is what moved us to kick it off.
We want to give a platform to the voices that are shaping the future of how we evolve integrated vegetation management with smarter approaches and technologies.” Charlton is a pioneer in the field of utility vegetation management (UVM). He graduated West Virginia University with BSF, MSF, and PhD degrees in forest science. His career spans over forty years, including a significant tenure as president of ECI (Environmental Consultants, Inc.) where he paved the way for hundreds of electrical companies to develop UVM programs for distribution line clearance and transmission right-of-way (ROW) management.
Charlton developed the industry’s first electronic system for performance analytics of external workforce management. He has also served on the Right-of-Way Stewardship Council and is an expert witness for UVM. During his ten-year tenure at the UAA, Charlton grew the association’s financials and membership to over five thousand members.
Singh is an electric engineer and risk management expert. He oversees operations and safety for the world’s largest utilities across the country. He joined the Iapetus group of companies as partner in 2012.
The Trees & Linespodcast is available on Spotify, Google, Apple, BuzzSprout and YouTube. Sign up for alerts on www.treesandlines.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
