Penn Power's 2020 Tree Trimming Program to Enhance Service Reliability

Work Includes Trimming Along Nearly 1,200 Miles of Power Lines

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Jun 16, 2020, 17:28 ET

AKRON, Ohio, June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), continues to conduct tree trimming work in communities across its western Pennsylvania service area as part of its ongoing efforts to help enhance service reliability ahead of the spring and summer storm season.

Since the beginning of the year, tree contractors have been working to trim nearly 1,200 circuit miles of electric lines in the Penn Power service area as part of a $9 million vegetation management program for 2020. Penn Power's 2020 program is on track for completion by the end of the year.

"Tree branches interfering with power lines is a leading cause of service disruptions in the Penn Power territory because we serve very rural, lush areas," said Edward Shuttleworth, regional president of Penn Power and Ohio Edison. "Our tree crews have made great progress over the years maintaining our vegetation to minimize the risk of tree-related outages."

Tree trimming will take place in all or parts of the following communities this year: Adams Township, Beaver Falls, Bedford, Conneaut Lake, Cranberry, Daugherty, Edinburg, Espyville, Evans City, Farrell, Fombell, Forward Township, Franklin, Frizzleburg, Greenville, Grove City, Hartstown, Jackson Township, Jamestown, Lancaster Township, Marion Township, Marshall Township, McCandless Township, Mercer, New Beaver, New Brighton, New Castle, New Sewickley, New Wilmington, North Sewickley, Oakland, Perry Township, Pine Township, Portersville, Pulaski, Richland Township, Sandy Lake, Sharon, Valencia, Villa Maria, Wampum, Warrendale, Wayne Township, West Middlesex, West Pittsburg, Wexford and Zelienople.

As part of its notification process, Penn Power works with municipalities to inform them of tree trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to work taking place.

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.

The program includes inspecting trees near the lines to ensure they're 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 also may be removed.

Penn Power is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. and serves more than 160,000 customers in all or parts of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Lawrence, and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania. Follow Penn Power on Twitter @Penn_Power, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennPower, and online at www.pennpower.com.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to 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 workers using bucket trucks to trim 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.