Trees and BGE

[Mailene Kelly]

The tree issue with power lines is ridiculous.  I have called BGE about the trees in my backyard that had the supply power lines running through the branches. I was told that they do not cut trees on private property, no matter how pro active it would be.  I would have to call a private service.  I went through the phone book and each company told me that they do not work around power lines, which made perfect sense to me.  It's a safety issue.  Less than a week after my attempts to get branches cleared off the power lines my sister in law found a hang tag on her door in Baltimore county advising her that BGE would be sending crews out to clear branches from the power lines and that they would be working on the property.  I called BGE and asked why they work on private property in the county but not in the city, and of course no one could explain the reasoning

This past year I found a BGE hang tag on my door informing me that BGE would be sending sub contractors out to clear branches form the power lines in the neighborhood and they needed permission to be on the property to do so.  I completed the permission form and left it on the door, as instructed, for the contractor to pick up.  It was not picked up and after several rains I threw it away.  The crews did come around and work in the neighborhood.  I was home the day they came but do not recall seeing or hearing anyone working on the trees in my back yard.  Maybe they just cut what they could reach from the alley. At least we did not lose power in this past storm so pro active trimming seems to work.

If BGE would amortize the cost of clean up after sever storms, and we do get a fair share of them, they could probably cover a large portion of what it would cost to bury the lines in the city.

Mailene on Beverly

[Peter Mares]

Actually, I guarantee you they are operating in the way that is most cost effective to them. These storms cost a fraction of what it would cost to bury lines, especially in already developed areas. Many people actually underestimate the cost to bury lines.

In already developed land, it can cost up to $3,000,000 per mile to bury a line!  The average cost for an overhead line in $120,000 per mile.  Overhead lines also last on average around 20 years longer then underground ones (assuming they don't get hit by a tree of course).

-Peter Mares
410-530-2142

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "nogli-news" group.
To post to this group, send email to nogli...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to nogli-news+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nogli-news?hl=en.

[Sue Fothergill]

The "cost" to clean up after a storm gets passed onto the consumer. The "cost" to bury a line doesn't relect the enormous loss to businesses that can't open, lost productivity, the accidents, the threat to the very young and elderly, etc. A cost benefit analysis should also take those things into consideration. Burying the lines may actually save money in the long run.

Sue Fothergill
410-404-4570

Sent from my Droid

[Tiffany Loner-Diemer]

Hi! I am not sure who you spoke to at bg&e but they do contract a tree
company to trim the trees away from the power lines for proactive
purposes. They usually work a circuit every three years depending on
the area. You must be licensed and certified to work within 10 feet
of regular power lines and 30 feet within major lines. The tree
company that contracts for bg&e in our region is lewis tree service.
Next time you call bg&e, ask for the forestry department. They can
out a work order in for you. I know this because my husband and I
worked for Lewis tree for several years. I hope this helps. Keep
trying!

[jilli...@comcast.net]

BGE has cleared trees around power lines on my block in recent years.  unfortunately they do so only as it effects the power lines without concern for potential consequences -- so months later during a heavy snow the tree, which was only prunned (severly) on one side only fell over under the weight of wet snow (as it was way off balance).

 

I guess I should have paid more attention to the problem and realized that their pruning would potentially cause problems.  That said I would have had to pay for tree pruning to remove the bulk of the tree/or trim the tree so as to create some balance.

 

If you have tree concerns I may be in you best interest to contract professionals yourself. In that way the tree service will look at the tree as a whole and not simply as related to power lines.  When the almost  50ft tall tree fell it missed the back of my house by less than 2 feet, and the root ball took out a good section of my fence.

---

[Linda]

Any trees on a person's property are their responsibility--whether or not they are near BGE lines.  Trees, like everything else, have to be maintained.  When such maintenance occurs depends on the tree itself.  Many should be pruned in late winter/early spring--before they bud and before the sap rises. Spring pruning insures that the tree can heal itself, forming a scab over areas cut to prevent the entry of parasites.

L. Brown