Right-of-way issues are the single-largest cause of power outages and the biggest day-to-day threat to electric service reliability. That’s why Washington Electric Cooperative, Inc., dedicates a significant portion of its operating budget each year to its vegetation management program.
Vegetation management is essential in providing safe and reliable electric service, and Washington Electric works hard to ensure that rights-of-way are regularly cleared of trees and brush to help reduce potential outages and hazards.
Mechanical cutting and clearing represents the majority of the Cooperative's right-of-way budget. This short-term solution is very costly. It involves hand cutting with chain saws and/or tractor-powered rotary cutters and other heavy equipment. A more cost-effective method is the use of herbicides, which can control the root systems of unwanted trees. This reduces the need for intensive maintenance of any type. As the undesirable woody stems are removed, the right-of-way is opened up for more desirable species. Then, as the desirable species flourish, they suppress the re-growth of unwanted trees. Over time, the right-of-way becomes full of plants that are not a threat to our electrical system.
Washington Electric Cooperative is involved with the National Wild Turkey Federation's Energy for Wildlife program, which helps the utility industry manage millions of miles of rights-of-way and other properties that could potentially provide ideal habitat for a number of wildlife species. The Cooperative also follows the guidelines set forth in BASF's Quality Vegetation Management program called Project Habitat. This project encourages and recognizes utilities that restore and improve plant, animal and human habitats, protect threatened and endangered species, and seek out and support professional certification and technical training. Washington Electric's participation in these programs helps ensure that the cooperative's vegetation management programs are executed in a manner that causes the least amount of environmental disturbance and actually promotes low-growing plant species and healthy wildlife habitats.
