Trees and Electric Power - Let's Talk Solutions

Before we begin, let’s say that every Granville resident wants trimming of trees near power lines. No question. So let’s just get that out of the way.

The question is not whether the trees are trimmed. The question is whether there is reasonable trimming or a wholesale cutting like what happened to the trees at the bottom of South Main Street near the car wash. Those complaining of AEP’s trimming want Granville’s trees to be trimmed, just not by someone related to the Jeffrey Dahmer family. So what is the solution for those of us grown accustomed to enjoying our tree-lined streets and also to using our computers, televisions, and video games?

A Public Utilties Commission of Ohio (PUCO) official recently visited several parts of Granville, including the Newark Granville Road area near Granville’s eastern boundary and a good amount of downtown. The PUCO official had several recommendations to both reduce the amount of tree damage from trimming and increase power transmission reliability.

So here are some thoughts for community officials and AEP to consider:

Power Pole Height

A close inspection of local power poles shows significant variation in power pole height. Higher poles allow for trees to grow larger while ensuring our electrical service is more reliable. For example, in the next couple days, take some time to look at the 300 block of East College Street where the telephone poles are 55 feet long, and compare this to the 200 block of North Pearl Street where the poles are as short as 40 - 45 feet. On East College Street, the trees are large and healthy, and there has been no power outage caused by that area in recent years. Yet, in the 200 block of North Pearl Street, the trees are cut much, much lower, and there have been at least one or two power outages caused by that block over the past few years. 

The Village and AEP should begin a discussion on partnering to raise the poles in selected areas. The PUCO official noted that wooden poles are available in various heights up to 100 feet. Currently, AEP is replacing some of its bad poles with new poles 5 feet longer. While this is a step in the right direction, it also is a lost opportunity even when it actually happens. For example, at the bottom of South Main Street, AEP replaced an old pole with only a 40 foot model when it had the opportunity to replace it with a 55 foot or higher pole. As you can see from the picture below, the impact was trees cut significantly lower than necessary. 

Hendrix Cables

The PUCO official also suggested more use of what are known in the industry as "Hendrix" cables. An ordinary power line is just asking for trouble with trees; it uses bare copper wire with no insulation to prevent trees from contacting live current or from one wire contacting another. The result? Trees or fallen branches can touch the line even momentarily and interrupt power delivery. Ordinary bare copper power lines have another problem. The multiple wires that make up the power line are really spread out. While this reduces the potential for one wire to contact another, the wide spreading means the trimming must be really spread out and consume more of the trees. The wires in Hendrix lines are condensed together using diamond-shaped spacers allowing the power line to coexist with trees. The wires also have a special insulating coating to protect the lines from the trees and from each other.

The following picture taken at the northeast corner of Broadway and Pearl Street shows both the narrow insulated Hendrix cable system running left to right and the much wider bare wire system running top to bottom.

Hendrix cables have other benefits including reducing the costs of trimming and increasing the reliability of service as the cables minimize outages otherwise caused by wildlife contact with bare wires.

As you can see from the picture above use of Hendrix cables still does not completely solve the problem if the poles are too short. However, using Hendrix cables on higher poles increases electric reliability while maintaining the health and beauty of our trees.

Another useful capability of Hendrix cables is they can be used in conjunction with arm extenders to move the electrical lines away from the trees. 

More Frequent Trimming

More frequent trimming would allow a more moderate trimming of the trees when they are trimmed, and it also would ensure a regular check of the power lines to make sure they are not close to new growth. The last time AEP was in the Village for significant tree trimming was in August 2003, and AEP will not be back for its main follow-up trimming until this winter. This is over six years between trimmings. Ohio’s PUCO has been pushing AEP to conduct more frequent tree trimming and has been pressing AEP for a four year tree trimming cycle, but AEP has resisted this. AEP told one Village official that it does not have enough crews to trim more frequently. Come on?

We all know that if AEP puts out more money for more tree trimming, a private company like Asplundh will put more trucks and more crews on the streets to trim more frequently. Six years ago when electrical service was at one of its low points, AEP had not even spent all of its maintenance budget (see Columbus Dispatch article entitled "AEP failed to maintain equipment, PUCO says", 8-23-2003).

Here is another solution. If AEP commits to trimming Granville trees every four years, perhaps the Village can commit to doing some touch-up trimming during the interim – say, every one or two years. The Village may be able to do this with its own crews if the power lines are placed high enough on longer poles and AEP does an initial, reasonable trimming to remove the tree growth near the power lines. This approach was discussed six years ago at a Council meeting (see Council Minutes, 9-17-2003).

Use Proper Trimming Techniques

Proper trimming techniques can reduce the need for future trimming while minimizing the damage to both the aesthetics and health of the trees.

For example, rather than giving trees a flat-top cut which encourages rapid vertical growth that will interfere with the power lines, trees should be given the proper "V" cut which, in addition to reducing the need for future trimming, looks better and is better for the health of the tree. 

Underground Power Lines

One of the best way to protect our trees and allow them to grow to their natural height and shape, and one of the best ways to ensure reliable power, is to bury power lines in selected areas.

Knee-jerk critics quickly say this is too costly a solution, and they may be right. Or wrong. Here are some things to consider.

The PUCO official roughly estimated the cost of burying electrical lines to be about $1 million per mile. Well, that is expensive. But Jurgen Pape, a long time Granville resident and a former AEP employee, believes burying power lines is still an option that should be considered. When commenting on the high cost of burying the lines, Mr. Pape responded: "Do you know how much it costs to trim the trees every few years? That is very expensive too." And that is a point. Perhaps burying some of our lines involves a large up-front cost, but considering tree trimming costs over 20 or 30 years, the up-front cost may be more reasonable. Certainly if the Village wants to consider this, AEP should consider pitching in based on higher reliability of service benefits and the savings by avoiding tree trimming for the next 20 or 30 years.

The Council might take a couple different approaches towards burying power lines. First, there might be certain portions of the Village that are especially important to maintain as attractive entry ways into the Village. These areas could include Main Street and Broadway. There also might be certain portions of Newark Granville Road and North Pearl Street that would be included in these special areas.

Another factor in determining which lines to bury is the nature of the line itself. Some power lines coexist more easily with trees than others. Certain lines, "three phase lines," carry much more electricity than other lines and are a primary cause of the intensive tree trimming that we see. It would be foolish to undertake a short term project of burying every line along every block of every street. The cost would be prohibitive and the relative overall gain would be less than a more thoughtful, selective plan.

Additionally, Council might create a master electrical plan whereby plans are made to bury those important three phase power lines when major road work is being contemplated. This can significantly reduce the incremental cost of burying the lines. An example of this strategy occurred a few years ago when Council approved slightly higher expenditures to bury the power lines at Cherry Valley Road when it was widened near State Route 16. But a few years earlier, Village Council failed to allocate the extra money when upgrading Broadway in the main part of downtown. In the future, burying power lines should be more seriously considered during all major roadway projects.

Selective Planting of Smaller Type Trees

Something the Village already is considering is the planting of smaller variety trees where power lines are located. This is one option to consider, and in selected areas, this might be a partial solution. However, this is not the end all solution. If smaller trees are planted on the power pole side of the street, and larger trees are planted on the other side, the Village streets will appear lopsided over time.

More Cooperative Attitude

We need a better, more cooperative attitude between the Village and AEP. We do not need AEP representatives threatening and berating us like someone on the Jerry Springer show. We also do not need AEP public relations folks showing up at Council meetings to tell us what we already know: “the trees need to be trimmed if we are going to have good, reliable electricity.” We know that, and no one is arguing that the trees should not be trimmed in a reasonable manner.

What we do need are higher level, open-minded AEP officials who are willing to partner with Village officials to develop a plan that works for both the Village and AEP. 

Creativity and Leadership

Just as the time for threats of cutting down all the trees has passed, the time also has ended for the straw man of the high cost of burying each and every line in the community to be thrown up as an obstacle. Both the Village and AEP need to focus on a well-considered plan that leverages all that modern technology and the wide variety of available techniques can provide. Simply put to both the Village and AEP: we need the benefits of tree-lined streets and the reliable electrical service that a properly designed and maintained 21st century electrical system can provide.

Editor’s note: The Village Council has invited a representative from AEP to discuss tree cutting to its regularly scheduled meeting this Wednesday, September 16, 2009, at 7:30 in the Village Council Chambers.

We have included a brief Guide to Power Lines and Poles for anyone interested in understanding which lines are three phase, etc., and how to determine pole height.