Magazines like to publish articles titled “30 under 30,” listing 30 newsworthy local folks who are under the age of 30. The state’s biggest electric utility has a different idea for that title.
Eversource is distributing a big poster with its recommendation of 30 trees that grow to be less than 30 feet tall, which keeps them well below power lines on roadside utility poles.
“If we can get people to start to plant trees under the wires that are not going to grow and impact the wires, and need to be trimmed, we’d be in much better shape,” said Bob Allen, who has the title of Eversource Manager of Vegetation Coordination, Strategy and Innovation for the company’s three New England states.
The advice follows a common mantra in the industry, he said: “The right tree in the right place.”
The 30-foot maximum was chosen because utility poles are at least 45 feet tall and the industry standard is to trim trees at least 10 feet below power lines, which are at the top of the pole. Trees may still overlap the lower wires and cables that carry phones, cable TV and Internet.
The company’s 30 under 30 list includes five types of maples, three dogwoods and a couple viburnums as well as lesser-known species like Serviceberry, Fringetree and AmurMaackla. (That’s not a typo.)
“We worked with Dr. Michael Dirr, a professor at the University of Georgia, to come up with 30 trees. In New England they’re not all natives, although most are, but all are available at nurseries, landscapers,” Allen said.
Like all electric companies, Eversource spends a lot of time and money on “vegetation management” – i.e., keeping trees from falling on the 12,000 miles of roadside lines in New Hampshire, cutting off power to irritated customers. “We get approximately 20,000 calls a year about trees on lines,” Allen said. His position is a reflection of the issue’s importance, as it combined what had once been separate programs in each Eversource state.
The company has four utility arboretums growing various plants and two demonstration sites in New Hampshire that show trees planted near poles and wires “so people can see how it looks all four seasons of the year” when trees are properly trimmed, Allen said. One site is at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth and the other is at the company’s facility on Legends Drive in Hooksett. Both are open to the public; in Hooksett, park at the skate park next door.
Of course, there’s a cost to all this – a cost that we, as ratepayers, cover. Eversource New Hampshire hires 115 contracted tree crews to cut back or cut down trees on about 2,400 miles of roadway each year. This isn’t cheap, and it can be tricky.
I have reported many times over the years on clashes between people who like their roadside trees left alone and people who like the lights to stay on when it’s windy. Allen said that tension is a fact of life for electric companies.
“Most people understand that they need to have the power flowing, and we understand that people love their trees,” said Allen. “We will always work with the homeowner.”
As well as trees, Eversource is not a fan of grape vines or bittersweet, that nasty invasive vine. They can climb poles and guy wires, interfering with transformers and other equipment. The rule is to cut the vines one foot above the ground and also 6 feet above the ground so it’s obvious that they have been killed, Allen said.
The 30-tree poster is part of the company’s package of planting recommendations that includes pollinator plants and lists of native species that can replace similar non-native plants.
“We know how popular native plants have become with folks, plants that have evolved with our insects and our climate,” Allen said. “People tend to like the really showy ornamental plants – nice laws and ornamental trees – and I think native plants got pushed a bit to the back burner. That seems to be changing.”
Guides for trees, native plants and pollinators can be downloaded from www.eversource.com.
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