Detroit Edison to Trim Trees in More Than 30 Communities in March and April

DETROIT, March 6  /PRNewswire/ -- Detroit Edison line-clearance crews will be working in more than 30 Southeastern Michigan communities in March and April, continuing their year-round effort to keep trees and branches away from power lines.  The utility trims trees to reduce the potential for power outages and to help ensure electric service reliability and safety for customers.

"Tree interference is responsible for about two-thirds of the power outages that occur during storms," said Steve Kurmas, DTE Energy executive vice president, Distribution Operations. "By maintaining a 10-foot clearance between tree branches and power lines, we can reduce the possibility of tree- related power outages."

Detroit Edison tree-trimming crews follow International Society of Arboriculture standards, which are designed to maintain the health of trees. The utility has received the National Tree Line USA Award for quality tree care for 10 consecutive years.

Detroit Edison removes from customer property small branches and debris that result from its line-clearance program.  Larger trimmed branches are cut into firewood length and left behind for customer use or disposal.

During a storm restoration process, unscheduled emergency tree trimming sometimes is required to facilitate the safe restoration of electrical service. If electric service has been interrupted because trees have been uprooted or large limbs have fallen on power lines, customers have the responsibility to remove tree debris resulting from such emergency restoration activity.

Customers are responsible for keeping tree branches away from their service drops, the lines that run from utility poles to their homes. Although the voltage running through the service drop is significantly lower than that of pole-to-pole wires, Detroit Edison recommends that customers hire a professional tree service to do this trimming.  Visit http://www.my.dteenergy.com/lineclearance to find more information about line clearance and proper tree planting.

In March and April, line-clearance crews will continue or begin work in the following communities:

  Lapeer County            St. Clair County
  Dryden Twp.              Port Huron
  Metamora Twp.            Port Huron Twp.

  Livingston County        Tuscola County
  Iosco Twp.               Caro
  Hartland                 Fremont Twp.
                           Indianfields Twp.
                           Juniata Twp.

  Macomb County            Washtenaw County
  Bruce Twp.               Dexter Twp.
  Ray Twp.                 Scio Twp.
  Washington Twp.          Salem Twp.
  Warren                   Superior Twp.

  Oakland County           Wayne County
  Bloomfield Twp.          Canton Twp.
  Bloomfield Hills         Detroit
  Farmington Hills         Plymouth Twp.
  Ferndale
  Hazel Park               Monroe County
  Huntington Woods         Monroe
  Pleasant Ridge
  Royal Oak
  Southfield
  West Bloomfield Twp.


DATASOURCE: Detroit Edison



CONTACT:  Eileen Dixon, [phone], or Len Singer, [phone],

both of Detroit Edison



Web site:  http://www.dteenergy.com/

http://www.my.dteenergy.com/lineclearance 

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