Power Cut Management

Pepco Gets Better With Outages Through Tree Removal And Vegetation Management

By Tiffany Young

Pepco customers can find some comfort in knowing that the frequency of outages caused by falling tree limbs has significantly decreased over the past decade. The company has an ongoing effort to trim trees and remove vegetation along approximately 1,330 miles of aerial power lines in 2021. The plan is to keep working on maintaining the safety and providing reliable service for the more than 894,000 customers across Washington, D.C. and the surrounding areas in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

Photo © Gregory Henry | Dreamstime.com

Tree trimming and vegetation management work is a critical component of Pepco’s efforts to continue to provide its customers with reliable energy service, especially given the growing threats from severe weather and powerful storms driven by climate change. Trees coming in contact with electric infrastructure and wires cause about 24 percent of power outages for customers each year across the company’s entire service area. Pepco’s enhanced tree trimming efforts are having significant impacts on the reliability of service the company provides. Since 2011, the frequency of outages experienced by customers caused by trees and other vegetation has decreased by 76 percent and resulted in Pepco customers receiving the most reliable service ever in 2020.

Due to this work, Pepco customers across Washington D.C. and Maryland experienced the lowest frequency of electric outages ever in 2020. Over the past ten years, energy system upgrades and new innovative technologies have reduced the frequency of electric outages by 68 percent for Pepco customers and communities. Customers experienced less than one outage, on average, over the course of the year and even when service was interrupted, crews were able to safely restore service in just 87 minutes, on average, in 2020.

Main Photo © Devy | Dreamstime.com