Foundation certifies Gibson Electric

Posted: Monday, April 26, 2010 11:58 am

The Messenger 04.26.10
Gibson Electric Membership Corp. is now certified as a Tree Line USA utility by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
GEMC is one of only three Tennessee cooperatives and nine municipal electric systems to hold the honor.
The Arbor Day Foundation, in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters, recognizes public and private utilities that demonstrate practices that protect and enhance America’s urban forests. The goal of the program is to promote the dual goals of safe, reliable electric service and abundant, healthy trees across utility service areas.
“Tree Line USA utilities deserve recognition for their commitment to providing safe, efficient service, while helping protect and preserve community trees,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.
“One of the greatest objectives of Tree Line USA, and major contribution of the program, is replacing the outdated line-clearance practice of topping trees with natural pruning. Natural pruning trains trees to grow away from wires and retain more of their natural form. This results in healthier trees and reduced clearance costs for utility companies, since natural pruning has to be done less frequently than topping.”
The trimming and all phases of vegetation management are essential to ensuring reliable electric service. With more than 2,900 miles of Gibson EMC’s electric lines stretching over eight northwest Tennessee counties, there are many opportunities for tree limbs to come into contact with electric lines.
This tree limb to electric line contact is the primary cause for electric blinks and power outages.

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