The
state Public Service Commission gave approval Tuesday to Appalachian Power and
Wheeling Power companies to begin a new comprehensive right-of-way vegetation
management plan.
There
were complaints too numerous to count against electric utility companies in
West Virginia concerning tree trimming in the days after the Derecho and
Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The companies were blamed for not having their
rights-of-way cleared. The PSC ordered each company to submit a comprehensive
plan. The commission has approved plans for four smaller companies in recent
months and announced the approval of the American Electric Power (Appalachian
Power, Wheeling Power) plan Tuesday.
PSC
spokesman Susan Small said this will be different than what companies have done
in the past.
“They
will go through their entire territory and systematically trim the trees and
vegetation so that they’re not in the way of the power lines,” she said. “This
is a way to minimize any impact during a major storm.”
Small
called it a comprehensive end-to-end, time cycle based right-of-way vegetation
management plan. She said the PSC had to look differently at line clearing
plans after the 2009 blizzard and the 2012 storms.
“It
just isn’t acceptable to have people without power for five days, eight days,
14 days,” she said. “So hopefully this is a proactive approach to keeping the
lights on.”
The
PSC also ruled it would allow both Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power to
recover the cost of the program through their rates. There’s no word yet on
what that will cost individual customers.
“The
commission has said it will be rolled into their next rate case, which they have
recently filed. But they want the company to get to work, cutting back trees,
cutting back vegetation right-of-way,” she said.
The vegetation management plan for the FirstEnergy companies Mon Power
and Potomac Edison is still pending before the PSC.
