Utility to trim trees in Milford, Westfall

MILFORD — Pike County Light and Power Co. (PCL&P) will be pruning and removing trees along its electric distribution lines beginning on or about Jan. 12 and continuing for approximately eight weeks.

Nelson Tree Service will do the work under PCL&P's supervision.

PCL&P says interference from tree limbs is the single most frequent cause of power outages. The utility schedules tree maintenance along overhead electric distribution wires in Pike County on a three-year cycle. Trees are pruned or removed off-cycle if they immediately threaten the electric system.

PCL&P specifications call for vegetation to be trimmed 15 feet to each side of a distribution primary conductor operating at 34.5kV, and under the conductors and limbs (less than six inches in diameter damaged diseased and dead will be removed, but not tree trunks) to 20 feet overhead. Prior to 2013, the specification was 10 feet to each side and under the conductors and all limbs to 15 feet overhead.

Distribution lines carry electricity along streets to homes and businesses. PCL&P's Distribution Vegetation Management Program calls for contractors to cut back trees that are touching lines or that have the potential to interfere with the wires. At the same time, crews remove dead trees and underbrush.

"Work crews will make every effort to be in and out of the area as quickly as possible to minimize any impact on the neighborhood’s routine," says a PCL&P press release.

This is the third major electric service reliability initiative in the Pike County service area over the past eight months. The other initiatives occurred in June and November, when PCL&P took the unusual step of scheduling overnight power outages that affected 2,570 customers each time to complete 25 separate capital improvement and line maintenance projects simultaneously. Those improvement projects were critical to electric system reliability, the utility says.

The tree maintenance plan for the Borough of Matamoras is still under development.