Ohio Edison Invests $22 Million in Tree-Trimming Work to Help Minimize Impact of Severe Weather

AKRON, Ohio, April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), is conducting tree trimming and other vegetation management work in communities across its 34-county service area in Ohio to help enhance service reliability for customers. This year's $22 million tree-trimming program will help keep power flowing to customers around the clock by preventing tree-related outages, such as those that can occur during the spring and summer storm season.

On the ground, contractors have trimmed trees along nearly 1,200 miles of electric lines across the Ohio Edison service area. The company's program remains on track to complete an additional 3,850 miles of tree-trimming work by the end of the year. As part of this process, helicopter aerial saws will be used in April to trim trees along hard-to-access transmission corridors in northeast Ohio.

Tree trimming is done on a four-year cycle. The program includes inspecting vegetation near the lines to ensure the trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safety near electric facilities. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed.

"Proactive tree trimming is some of the most important and effective work we do every year to maintain our power system and minimize the impact of damage caused by severe weather," said Edward Shuttleworth, regional president of Ohio Edison and Penn Power. "In order to keep electricity flowing safely and reliably during all types of weather conditions, we have a responsibility to protect the lines that deliver it to homes and businesses across our region."

Tree trimming is being conducted in the following counties and communities throughout the year:

• Ashland – Ashland, City of Ashland, Hayesville, Mifflin, Nankin, Polk and Savannah
• Clark – New Carlisle and Springfield
• Columbiana – Guilford Lake, Lisbon, Petersburg and Salem
• Delaware – City of Delaware, City of Dublin, Millcreek and Shawnee Hills
• Erie – Berlin Heights, Huron and Sandusky
• Geauga – Hiram
• Huron – Monroeville and Norwalk
• Lorain – Elyria, Grafton, Lorain, North Ridgeville and South Amherst
• Madison – London
• Mahoning – Austintown, Boardman, Campbell, Canfield, Ellsworth, Mineral Ridge, New Middletown, North Jackson, North Lima, Poland, Sebring, Struthers and Youngstown
• Marion – Kirkpatrick, Marion and Prospect
• Medina – Medina, Seville, Valley City and Wadsworth
• Morrow – Ashley, Cardington and Mount Gilead
• Ottawa – Port Clinton
• Portage – Auburn Township, Aurora, Brimfield Township, Franklin Township, Geauga Township, Kent, Ravenna, Ravenna Township, Rootstown Township, Streetsboro and Suffield Township
• Richland – Crestline, Galion, Johnsville, Mansfield, Olivesburg, Pavonia, Shenandoah and Steam Corners
• Stark – Alliance, Hartville, Lexington, Marlboro Township, Minerva, North Canton, Paris and Perry Township
• Summit – Barberton, Chapel Hill, Clinton, Copley, East Akron, Elizabeth Park Valley, Firestone Park, Goodyear Heights, Green, Kenmore, Lakemore, Macedonia, Nordonia, Northfield, Northfield Township, Northfield Center Township, Norton, Reminderville Township, Sagamore Hills, South Akron, Tallmadge, Twinsburg, Twinsburg Township and Walnut Hills
• Trumbull – Andover, Brookfield, Fowler, Hartford, Hubbard, Kinsman, Leavittsburg, Liberty, Parkman, Southington, Vienna, Warren and Willamsfield
• Union – Magnetic Springs and Richwood
• Wayne – Doylestown

As part of its notification process, Ohio Edison works with municipalities to inform them of tree trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way also are notified prior to vegetation management work being done. 

The vegetation management work is conducted 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.

In the air, helicopters equipped with aerial saws will trim trees and maintain clearances along hard-to-access transmission and distribution corridors throughout Ohio Edison's service area. The aerial saw is typically deployed along transmission and distribution lines in areas that may be environmentally sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This method typically 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 has contracted with Aerial Solutions, which owns and operates the helicopter and saw, to perform the work. 

Ohio Edison serves more than 1 million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving 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 on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.

Editor's Note: Photos of utility personnel trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

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