The natural beauty that we all enjoy in Groton includes the large number of lush trees that line our roads and cover the landscape. Unfortunately, trees and power lines don’t mix.
Trees that grow too close to electric lines can cause trouble if branches touch them or fall onto them. When this happens, especially during storms, wires can be pulled to the ground, fires started, and hundreds of homes and businesses can lose their electricity.
Even in good weather, a single leaf or twig in the wrong place can spell trouble and cause an outage. To minimize these types of outages and others that may be more serious, we perform ongoing tree-trimming throughout Groton as needed. While the clearance needed for each line varies according to the size of the line, we follow industry standards to maximize safety and reliability.
So if you see us trimming trees in your neighborhood, please understand that it’s necessary, and that we’re doing it to ensure safe, dependable electric service for you and your family.
If our tree-trimming crew is coming to your neighborhood, we’ll place a door hanger on the front door ahead of time to let you know we’re on our way.
Hardwood cut by our crew will be left for the homeowner’s personal use. Other brush and cuttings are chipped and delivered to the town transfer station for local residents to use. Be careful not to put wood chips close to your house as these chips may contain ants or other bugs because they are not treated. Use them as mulch away from structures.
We trim trees to keep branches from interfering with our electrical lines and equipment. When tree branches contact a power line, they can cause power outages. There may also be a safety issue with power tracking down the tree to ground.
In general, GELD tries to maintain a minimum of 6′ of side clearance from the ground to the power lines and 12′ of vertical clearance above the power lines. We may also remove entire branches back to the trunk that are growing toward the lines, and branches that when cut would re-sprout and grow toward the lines. Branches growing away from the lines are not trimmed.
Using professional pruning techniques encouraged by the National Arbor Day Foundation and the International Society of Arboriculture protect the tree from pests, decay, and does not interfere with the tree’s natural defense system.
Our strategy to maintain power lines free of tree growth is based on a consistent, planned trimming cycle. These cycles can vary depending on tree species and growth rates. Typically, the main lines are addressed on an average of three years.
Some trees need more pruning than others to maintain a safe distance from overhead power lines. If it is determined that pruning will dramatically affect the health of the tree, or the trimmed tree will be unsightly, then removing the tree is recommended.
You should not attempt to trim any vegetation growing near or on any overhead power lines. Only specially trained line clearing professionals should work around power lines.
When trimming is done as part of our scheduled maintenance program, trimmings are removed at the end of the same day.
In the event of a storm, our first priority is to restore electric service to our affected customers. In this case, we do not remove debris that resulted from trimming during the restoration process.
If you see a tree touching power lines and sparking contact us at 978-448-1150 to report the condition.
When planting trees, always consider the height and spread of that tree when it reaches a mature size. This will help to avoid future conflicts with trees and power lines.
