Trees are a valuable asset in commercial, private and public landscapes. They add beauty, help our environment and add value to the property. However, these same trees can be a major challenge for NEC.

  • Trees are one of the major causes of power outages in areas with overhead utility lines.
  • When trees contact live wires they may become conductors of electricity, causing power outages or creating dangerous situations for anyone coming in contact with the trees.

NEC works hard maintaining its rights of way near overhead lines to provide safe and reliable electrical service.

  • We employ certified arborists and professional foresters to oversee our vegetation management program.
  • For most of our rights of way, routine vegetation management activities are completed on a year-round schedule of approximately every 5 years.
  • Tree pruning or take down outside of this regularly scheduled maintenance is completed only at the request of the landowner or to correct a hazardous situation. If you have a tree next to an overhead line that needs to be taken down or pruned, please contact us.
  • Trees planted in the proper location can actually lower your electric bill by providing shade in the summer and protection from cold winds in the winter. Visit the Arbor Day website for more information on planting the right tree in the right place.

Although NEC would prefer that no trees are planted within our rights of way with overhead lines, or within ten feet of our underground transformers, you can help by using these guidelines when planting trees near overhead lines. Before you plant, call VA811,formerly Miss Utility at least three days in advance (not counting weekends and holidays) to have your underground utilities marked. They can be reached by simply dialing 8-1-1.

NEC's staff of professional foresters and certified arborists manages our rights of way using Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) practices. The ultimate goal of our vegetation management activities is to maintain our rights of way relatively free of trees that could grow into our overhead power lines and disrupt the reliable delivery of electricity to our members.

The establishment of a vigorous community of grasses, wildflowers, and low-growing shrubs on the right-of-way corridor limits the germination of new tree seedlings on the site. Mechanical cutting, herbicide applications, and cultural control (e.g., yards and gardens) are considered when determining the best management practice for each right of way. NEC completes routine vegetation management of its distribution rights of way approximately every five years.

During routine maintenance:

  • Trees are pruned to provide adequate clearance from the energized conductors.
  • Dead and other hazardous trees that could fall onto the lines are taken down.
  • Brush within the right of way is mowed or cut with chainsaws.

NEC is a rural utility and many of our poles and wires are not accessible from a road. Our personnel need to have access to poles and other facilities to make any necessary repairs, especially after storms. Mowing a swath on either side of our poles provides a clear area for our personnel to safely complete needed repairs.

To enhance the long-term benefits of this maintenance, NEC usually follows up with an herbicide application about one year after this routine clearing. Mowing simply eliminates the above-ground portion of small trees growing within our rights of way and encourages vigorous sprouting from the undamaged root system, whereas herbicide application provides long-term control of tall-growing trees that establish themselves within our rights of way.

Cultural control of undesirable species by the landowner is encouraged whenever the establishment of such areas will not limit access to NEC facilities. Utilizing the right of way for yards, gardens, pastures, cropland, wildlife plantings, Christmas tree farms, and other similar uses minimizes the need for vegetation management by NEC.

As a part of a regularly scheduled maintenance program, NEC clears vegetation from its rights of way approximately every five years. As a follow up to this maintenance, the Cooperative utilizes the selective application of EPA-approved herbicides to target tall-growing trees and shrubs that could cause power outages if left to grow.

The herbicide is applied directly to the leaves of tall-growing trees within our easement by licensed, trained applicators walking the right of way with a backpack sprayer, avoiding application to low-growing vegetation. Trees absorb the herbicide through the leaf surface and distribute it throughout the plant. The herbicide inhibits the growth of the treated tree by disrupting its ability to process essential nutrients and water.

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Herbicide applications provide benefits to NEC and its members:

  • Access to our facilities is greatly improved by eliminating dense brush, reducing the time required to restore service following an outage.
  • Reducing small trees on our rights of way allows grasses, ferns, wildflowers, and low-growing shrubs to thrive, providing excellent habitat for wildlife.

The herbicides used by NEC are safe and effective. Herbicides will not harm humans, animals, reptiles, birds, insects or aquatic life. The herbicides used by NEC are tightly bound to soil particles and will not leach into streams, ponds, ground water, or wells. They are relatively short-lived within the environment and degraded by sunlight and soil microorganisms into innocuous compounds within several months.

The herbicide application process will not affect those customers who have underground electric lines on their property. Also, no herbicides will be applied to lawns, gardens, pastures, croplands or other maintained areas.

Several weeks before the application, NEC sends a letter to property owners along the distribution rights of way scheduled for foliar herbicide applications.

REC's tree pruning practices conform to the procedures set forth by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in its publication Tree, Shrub, and Other Woody Plant Maintenance - Standard Practices (ANSI A300). These standards require the use of "directional" and "natural pruning" methods (endorsed by the Tree Care Industry Association, the National Arbor Day Foundation, and the International Society of Arboriculture).Natural pruning is the practice of pruning branches back to a natural point of growth in the crown of the tree. Natural pruning is healthier than tree topping, which is the indiscriminate cutting back of tree branches to reduce the size of the tree crown. Although topping generally leaves the tree with a more balanced appearance, the International Society of Arboriculture calls topping "perhaps the most harmful pruning practice known." Topping stresses trees, makes them more vulnerable to insects and disease, and leads to decay. By planting trees and shrubs away from power lines, you can reduce the need for pruning.

Directional Pruning

  • Removes only those branches that conflict with the power lines.
  • Instead of cutting the limbs back to unnatural stubs, branches are pruned back to the trunk or parent branch where trees normally shed them.
  • Numerous characteristics, such as species, growth rate, proximity to our facilities, and the voltage and construction of the line, are considered when pruning trees near our overhead lines.
  • We prune trees to keep them from impacting our lines for five years, so the distance from the tree to our conductor after pruning varies from about four feet for slow-growing species (e.g., dogwood, magnolia, spruce) to over 15 feet for fast-growing species (e.g., maple, sycamore, poplar).

 

V-pruning and side pruning are the two main variations of directional pruning. Trees may look considerably different after directional pruning, but the visual impact of utility pruning will be softened as the tree responds with new growth.

Small branches are either chipped or left to naturally decay, depending upon the location of the overhead right of way and surrounding conditions. Chipping of branches is often completed by a separate crew, usually within a day or two following the pruning work. Large wood is      left on site for the property owner's use. Debris resulting from storm damage is not removed during emergency restoration work and is the responsibility of the landowner.

Always look up before planting a tree. Tree and power line conflicts can often be avoided by following this simple advice.

When selecting trees to plant on your property, you should consider the mature height of the tree when determining a suitable planting location. Read the tag to determine how tall your selected tree will eventually grow. For areas near houses and overhead utilities, there are three tree height zones, as follows:

  • Low: The low height zone extends 15 feet on either side of overhead wires. Plant only large shrubs and small trees with mature heights of 20 feet or less within this area.
  • Medium: To accommodate the width of taller trees, the medium height zone begins at least 15 feet from all utility lines. Select trees that grow 40 feet or less for planting within this zone.
  • Tall: The tall height zone begins at least 35 feet from buildings and 65 feet from utility lines. Trees that grow taller than 40 feet are suitable for planting in this area.

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Before you plant, call VA811 (formerly Miss Utility) at least three days in advance (not counting weekends and holidays) to have your underground utilities marked. They can be reached by simply dialing 8-1-1.

Find more here on choosing the right tree for the right place.

Before you dig, call VA811 (formerly Miss Utility) at 8-1-1 to have utility lines marked. The service is free, and it is the law.

  • Dig a hole that is at least twice as wide, but no deeper than the size of the tree's root system.
  • Place the tree in the hole at a depth where the soil line is the same as it was in its container.
  • Back fill the hole then firm the soil, while holding the tree in a straight, upright position. When the hole is almost filled, water thoroughly and then complete filling.
  • It will take about six months to one year for the tree to get fully established.
  • Avoid fertilizing at planting or during the first year when it's easy to burn roots on newly planted trees.

NEC's certified arborists and professional foresters oversee vegetation management on the Cooperative's distribution and transmission system.

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The emerald ash borer, or EAB, is an exotic metallic green wood-boring beetle native to eastern Asia. This insect feeds almost exclusively on ash trees, but has been found to infest our native fringetree as well. In its natural environment, EAB is not a significant threat to healthy ash trees, but in North America, EAB is a highly destructive invasive species.

Any member who has dead ash trees near our overhead power lines should call NEC at 803-276-1121 to request an assessment by one of NEC's arborists. Dead or declining trees that pose an imminent hazard to NEC power lines will be taken down by our contract crews at no expense to the member. Trees that would impact only the service line to a member will not be taken down by NEC, but NEC will drop the line for the member to have the trees removed. The wood will be left on site to be used or disposed by the member.

NEC does not haul off wood resulting from the take down of trees adjacent to our power lines, and ash wood should not be moved off of the property to minimize the risk of spreading emerald ash borer.

NEC will cut down the ash tree to eliminate the hazard. If the tree is in your yard, the branches will be chipped and hauled away if they are not too rotten or brittle. The stump will be cut as low to the ground as possible. The wood will be cut into manageable lengths and piled near the stump. Ash trees in wooded locations may be felled into the woods in their entirety.

EAB was initially identified in southeastern Michigan and adjacent Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 2002. EAB probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia. Since its discovery, EAB has spread rapidly and has now been confirmed in 30 states and two Canadian provinces, as far west as Colorado, south to Texas and Georgia, and east to most of New England. Hundreds of millions of ash trees have already been killed, with the expectation that ash abundance will be significantly reduced nationwide

In Virginia, EAB was first identified in Fairfax County in 2003, but it was successfully eradicated. It was reconfirmed in Fairfax County in 2008 and has since spread throughout half of the counties within the Commonwealth. The entire state is currently under quarantine. The EAB's effects are most notable in the northwestern portion of REC's service territory, where ash trees make up a larger portion of our native forest.

Adult emerald ash borers feed on ash leaves, but cause little damage to the tree. Adult beetles lay eggs in bark crevices and cracks of ash trees, where they hatch in one to two weeks. The resulting larvae bore through the bark into the cambium layer, the part of the tree that transports water and nutrients throughout the tree. Once in the cambium, the larvae tunnel under the bark feeding on the tree's cambium layer and creating serpentine galleries. The larvae overwinter under the bark and emerge the following spring as adults to continue the cycle. Over the course of several years of infestation, the galleries from numerous larvae effectively girdle the tree, killing it.

Newly infested ash trees exhibit few, if any, external symptoms. The first sign of an EAB infestation may be bark stripping caused by woodpeckers as they feed on EAB larvae, often creating whitish strips on the trunk as they feed. As damage to the tree increases, foliage wilts, branches die, and the tree canopy starts to thin. D-shaped exit holes left by the emerging adult beetles are difficult to see, but are a sure sign of EAB infestation. Vertical bark splits may occur over the larval feeding galleries. Infested ash trees decline from the top down, typically dying after 3 to 4 years of infestation. Infested trees may sprout new branches from the lower trunk or roots as upper branches die.

High-value ash trees can be saved by treating them with a systemic insecticide that is either injected into the soil at the base of the tree or directly into the tree's trunk. Select soil drenches may be purchased and applied by landowners, but a trunk injection must be completed by a trained, certified pesticide applicator. This treatment is costly and provides protection for only 2 or 3 years. Due to the cost and currently available application methods, it is generally not feasible to perform wide-spread treatment of ash trees. Landowners who are interested in preserving individual ash trees should contact their local extension agent for advice.

Ash trees killed by EAB quickly become brittle and can fail without warning. This makes them hazardous for our contractors to climb and poses a significant threat to NEC's overhead conductors. Dead ash trees adjacent to NEC lines may fall onto the power lines, causing an interruption of service. While ash trees comprise only about two percent of Virginia’s forests statewide, they are estimated to be nearly ten percent of the total trees in Frederick County and other locations in northwestern Virginia.

A. NEC first encountered EAB-killed ash trees on our system in 2014 and the number has steadily increased. Due to the overwhelming number of dead ash trees, NEC has decided to take a more proactive approach to mitigate the threat that EAB poses to the reliable delivery of electricity to our members. All native ash trees are susceptible to the emerald ash borer and untreated ash trees will most likely be killed by EAB. Therefore, NEC has started to take down apparently healthy, uninfected ash trees as part of our routine right-of-way clearing operations. All ash trees encountered while clearing our rights of way will be evaluated by an NEC arborist and any ash trees that are likely to fall onto our lines will be targeted for removal.

The large number of dead ash trees on our system has already resulted in increased clearing costs for NEC. If we do not proactively take down healthy ash trees as they are encountered during our clearing operations, costs will continue to increase and service reliability will suffer. NEC clears our overhead rights of way on a 5-year cycle. Since ash trees usually die within 3 or 4 years after the initial infestation, dead trees would have to be taken down by extra crews prior to the next scheduled clearing without this preemptive approach.

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