Detroit Edison to Trim Trees in More Than Thirty Communities in May and June

DETROIT, May 1  /PRNewswire/ -- Detroit Edison line-clearance crews will be working in more than 30 Southeastern Michigan communities in May and June, 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://my.dteenergy.com/lineclearance to find more information about line- clearance and proper tree planting.

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

  Lapeer County         Sanilac County
  Dryden Twp.           Buel Twp.
                        Lexington Twp.
  Livingston County     Worth Twp.
  Brighton Twp.
  Hartland              Tuscola County
  Hartland Twp.         Almer Twp.
                        Caro
  Macomb County         Indianfields Twp.
  Bruce Twp.
  Ray Twp.              Washtenaw County
  Romeo                 Ann Arbor
  Sterling Heights      Dexter Twp.
  Warren                Scio Twp.
                        Webster Twp.
  Oakland County
  Bloomfield Twp.       Wayne County
  Commerce Twp.         Canton Twp.
  Hazel Park            Detroit
  Huntington Woods      Melvindale
  Keego Harbor          Northville Twp.
  Madison Heights       Taylor
  Oxford Twp.
  Rochester Hills
  Royal Oak
  Southfield
  Troy
  West Bloomfield


DATASOURCE: Detroit Edison



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

both of Detroit Edison



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

http://my.dteenergy.com/lineclearance 

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