Work starting in mid-June addresses vegetation along 96 miles of power lines in the city

BALTIMORE (June 14, 2016)--Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE) customers in the city of Bowie will notice tree trimming and vegetation management operations taking place along overhead power lines in the city, beginning in mid-June and continuing through late fall in an effort to continue the improvements made by the Bowie Electric Reliability Action Plan (BERAP) that was completed back in 2010. BGE has seen improvements in the reduced frequency and shorter duration of service interruptions across its service area in recent years, a reliability trend that continues for customers in Bowie.

In 2016, BGE will spend nearly $27 million on vegetation management along approximately 2,300 miles of overhead power lines throughout its service area. The pruning and removal of trees helps to prevent outages over BGE’s 10,500 miles of overhead power lines that serve hundreds of thousands of customers. There are 40 percent fewer outages where trees have been recently pruned or removed. The entire power grid is trimmed on a four-year cycle. Aside from vegetation management investments, the company recently invested more than $8 million in distribution upgrades and new technology in preparation for the summer storm season.

“Our commitment to a safe and reliable electric system extends well beyond the maintenance of poles and wires,” said Derrick Dickens, vice president of Technical Services for BGE. “The top cause of electric outages is tree and plant growth along our distribution lines and our tree and vegetation management program has greatly reduced tree-related power interruptions where tree branches have been cut back from the lines. We’ve made important progress in the city of Bowie and we want to maintain the current levels of reliability.”

In 2015, the frequency of electric service interruptions across its entire service area, including those caused by all weather events, was BGE’s lowest on record. Last year, customers who did experience outages, except during significant weather events, had power restored faster than ever before—reducing the average length of outages by 45 minutes since 2012. The average duration of power outages during the first quarter of 2016, 81 minutes, was the lowest first quarter measure on record for BGE. BGE ranks in the top 25 percent of comparable electric utilities nationwide.

BGE’s vegetation management is performed by licensed contractors trained to safely remove trees and branches that would interfere with power lines, while minimizing impacts to tree health. Additionally, BGE has a professional staff of Maryland Authorized Foresters and International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborists that monitor the work of the contractors. Customers will be notified before work begins in their area. Areas slated for work include all or parts of the following neighborhoods:

• Chapel Forge
• Heather Hills
• Huntington
• Kenilworth
• Meadowbrook
• Pointer Ridge
• Rockledge
• Somerset
• Tulip Grove
• Whitehall

For an online tree trimming schedule and map, as well as information on how to choose the right types of trees and locations to plant away from energy equipment, visit BGE's Tree & Vegetation Management page.

###