More Reliable Power Means More of What You Love
Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative is led by consumer-members like you who understand the importance of delivering top-notch service. One aspect of that service is making sure you don’t lose power and miss out on doing what you love as a result.
On average, Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative members experience less than one hour of outage time per year. This high mark for reliable service reflects decades of planning and investment related to PCEC’s electrical system.
Reliability is one of the co-op’s strategic goals and always remains a top focus for staff members. Although outages have been kept to a minimum over the years through investment and maintenance, PCEC’s engineering and operations teams are always looking for ways to make power even more reliable for members.
One way the cooperative is working to achieve greater reliability is by stepping up tree-trimming efforts and brush control on the co-op’s rights-of-way. Vegetation management near power lines will prevent hazards from turning into outages.
PCEC’s vegetation management efforts are being carried out by contractors who know the territory well and have worked with PCEC in the past.
What is an Electric Line Right-of-Way?
An electric or power line right-of-way (ROW) is a strip of land that an electric utility uses to construct, maintain, repair or replace overhead and underground power lines. The ROW allows the utility to provide clearance from trees and other things that could interfere with line installation, maintenance and operation.
There are three main reasons to maintain a right-of-way: safety, reliability and affordability of your electric power.
Safety
Your safety is a top priority of your electric cooperative. A tree that is growing too close to a power line creates a potentially deadly hazard. It provides a clear path for a child to climb from safety into the danger zone. Danger increases when trees and power lines make contact, but the tree does not even need to be touching the line to cause deadly results. Electricity can jump, or arc, from the power line to a nearby conductor, such as a tree. An effective right-of-way program helps keep our littlest members safe.
Reliability
You hear thunder rumbling in the distance. A storm is coming. Do you know that your chances of receiving uninterrupted service through a storm are greatly increased if your electric cooperative maintains clear rights-of-way? Contrary to what many people believe, lightning rarely causes power outages. It’s wind and ice build-up that causes trees and limbs to fall on power lines. An effective right-of-way program keeps many of the potential problems away from power lines and improves reliability for you and your neighbors down the line. A tree growing too close to your neighbors’ power lines can knock out power for hundreds of others – including you.
Affordability
An electric cooperative is a not-for-profit business, which means we provide a service and cover costs. Any margins, or profits, gained by the co-op are either returned to members at the end of the year, or invested back into the co-op for improvements and emergencies.
When trees grow too close to power lines, the potential for costly repairs also grows. Suddenly, minor restoration efforts become major restoration efforts. As these costs increase, so do your electric rates. An effective right-of-way program helps keep electric rates lower.
Consider Where You Plant New Trees
Plan before you plant. A small yard tree today can later become a big problem for you and your electric co-op. Follow one simple rule: Be safe. Look up! Contact us if you have questions determining where to safely plant your next tree. Also be sure to call 1.800.DIG.RITE before you start.