Credit: PA Internet News Service
PECO is working to improve service for 36,000 customers throughout Bucks County.
The work comes as a result of a $3 million investment from the power company. The project will trim trees and remove vegetation along 373 aerial electrical lines. The work began in early April and will be finished by the end of July, according to PECO officials.
“Vegetation growth causes about one-third of all electric outages,” Dave Weaver, vice president of Technical Services at PECO, said in the release. “Our comprehensive vegetation management program is vital to safely keeping the lights on for our customers.”
“This work will occur in the townships of Bristol, Falls, Lower Makefield, Newtown, Northampton, Solebury, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown. Work will also take place in the boroughs of Morrisville, New Hope, Newtown, Tullytown and Yardley,” a statement from PECO reads.
PECO spends about $500 million every year to improve on its infrastructure. In 2017, about $41 million will be dedicated to vegetation management, according to the release.
The vegetation management crews are trained in arboricultural techniques as defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standard. The assessment takes into account the type and location of the tree, its relation to overhead equipment and overall health of the tree, and customers are notified before work begins, the release states.
For more information, call 1-800-494-4000 or visit peco.com and click on the “Trees and Powerlines” link under the “Safety & Community” tab on the home page.
