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Just like the human body, Delaware Electric Cooperative’s electrical system needs constant maintenance to keep it healthy. When something goes wrong, your lights go dark. Trees, branches and vegetation pose a tremendous threat to any electrical system. During major storms or even just breezy days, trees can fall onto power lines and take down utility poles.

That’s why your Cooperative manages a comprehensive tree trimming program—our engineers call it vegetation management. Over the course of a normal year, local contract crews will trim trees and shrubs away from power lines across about 25-percent of our system, meaning crews are able to cover our entire service territory every four years.

Our vegetation management program prevents power outages, helping to keep your lights on during severe weather. Of course, we can’t prevent all outages, which can happen as the result of an equipment malfunction, animals and even car accidents. So, how can you help? Be conscientious about where you plant trees on your property. Trees should never be planted directly under overhead power lines. Small trees eventually become large trees so it’s best to plant all trees at least 25 feet away from lines. Trees that grow taller should be planted at least 40 feet away. We’ll keep doing our part to improve reliability and we hope you will too.

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