Department News from Barry Spiller

Posted by: TEC Web Team
June 2007

Preparing for Spray Season 2007

by Barry Spiller
TEC Engineering Department

Trees are a tremendous asset to home-owners and the environment, providing shade, wildlife habitat, and aesthetic value to all of us. Unfortunately, trees are a leading cause of power outages, especially when the wind blows. TEC performs routine maintenance of trees and other vegetation on the right-of-way. These vegetation management activities are essential to maintain reliable electric service to our members and to provide for the safety of your family and the general public. TEC’s vegetation management activities include the following components:

• Tree pruning
• The removal of hazard trees/other trees that require excessive pruning
• The mowing or cutting of brush and small trees on the right-of-way
• Herbicide application to small trees on the right-of-way

Benefits to our members:

• Helps with “Blinking” lights. When limbs brush against the power line it causes our power to flicker or “blink”
• Allows for a steady flow of power to your home or business
• Powerlines free and clear of tree limbs means a safer place for kids who like to climb trees
• A cleaner right of way means less time restoring power after storms
• Benefits our members economically as it helps lower repair costs
• Helps to curtail line loss. Line loss is UNbillable power that goes from tree limbs to the ground. No one is billed, but your cooperative still pays for the lost electricty, which is not cost effective

Help us make both your power and your trees be an asset to you and your cooperative.

RIGHT of WAY DATES for JUNE and JULY
Eastern half of Marion County including the Robert Crowe and Guin Substations

Right of way spraying season is from June 1st through September 30th. This is the prime growth season, and is the most effective time to apply herbicides.

You can spray four times the amount of right away in the same amount of time it takes to mow . Spraying also lasts twice as long as mowing.

Chemicals We Use Are:

Krenite - brush control agent and bud inhibitor; this prevents new growth.

Arsenal - herbicide; this controls annuals, prennials, grasses and broadleaf weeds. It also is used for the control of many low-growing brush and vine species.

Surfactant 90 - non-ionic low foam wetter/spreader adjuvant; this is a cleaner and drift controlant.

New Film - holds these mixtures to the brush longer, which creates a better opportunity for the plant to absorb the spray.

Tombigbee Electric Cooperative strives to provide you with the most reliable electric service possible. We work withthe best technology available, do regular maintenance, and train our employees to spot system hazards.

Still, Mother Nature throws us some curves fromtime to time. Lightning, ice storms,fires, floods and tornadoes are just afew of the formidable challenges ourhighly qualified technicians face. Treelimbs, bent or blown over during harshweather, are a regular concern. Evenanimals can be a problem. Squirrels,snakes,ants, woodpeckers and other critters cause interruptions when they come in contact with some types of electric equipment.

Here are just some of the measureswe take to keep interruptions to a minimum:

• Crews regularly trim tree branchesalong distribution lines.
• Lightning arrestors on transformersdirect lightning safely to the ground.
• Wildlife guards and insulated cablekeep animals safe from transformers.
• Materials used discourage and pre-vent animals from damaging crossarms.

More on vegetation maintenance...

Providing uninterrupted power during times of peak load is a high priority, so Tombigbee Electric Cooperative chooses wire sizes and transformers that can handle the job. We install fuses, sectionalizers and reclosers to minimize areas of interruption. In addition, multiple ground connections help protect the system, equipment and the general public.
Once an outage occurs and is reported, linemen are immediately dispatched to find the source of the outage and make repairs.These are just some of the ways Tombigbee Electric Cooperative is workingto provide you electric service you can count on at a reasonable cost.

It's Vegetation Management season, and Tombigbee Electric is ready to offer up to date information regarding this topic and to hopefully answer any questions you might have regarding our spraying and management procedures. If you have any questions please phone me at 205.468.3325, extension 233, and I'll be happy to be of assistance.

A construction crew (Hunter Miles, Ricky Roach, Shane Webb), are shown retiring a service that is no longer in use. Taking down the materials, (poles, wire, etc) and salvaging them, for use in other constructions, is one of the methods used daily to cut operating and construction costs.	Shown above and below (left) are pictures of right-of-way Foreman, Bob Norris, and groundman, Ed Johnston, hand trimming limbs. This is the way that most right-of-way clearing used to be done Shown below are vegetation management workers taking a break, for a photo-op as well as relief from the heat and humidity. The tractor is carrying chemicals used in the treatment process.

• Our vegatative spraying maintenance applications are done by the W.A. Kendall Company using trained and certified personnel.
  
• Spraying season from June thru September
• Areas scheduled for 2002, are: White House, Fairview, Hackleburg, Wiginton, Guin, Hamilton, Sulligent, Detroit, Crews
  

Information on Spraying

Herbacides are used with care.
All spraying is superviseds. In addition, the people applying the spray must be certified and/or licensed, and must strictly adhere to our vegetation management plans which are approved by the State. In addition, all mixing of the herbicide is done at the shop and not at the site so there is no risk of spillage or disposal concerns.

Glyphosate is safely used for vegetative management.
Glyphosate is a pesticide that is labeled "Category E" by the US EPA, it means that there is no evidence of carcinogenicity to humans.

Have effects of herbicides on wild game been studied?
The impacts on game birds have been studied and, surprisingly, many of the tests strongly recommend the use of herbicides to control the undesirable vegetation that may invade the natural habitats of these birds. In fact, Quail Unlimited, Grouse Unlimited, and the National Wild Turkey Federation support herbicide use as the best management tool for game bird habitat. Buckmasters and the American Butterfly Lovers Association also support herbicide use for habitat retention.

Herbicides, like Glyphosate, are water soluble but will not entirely wash away nor get into groundwater.
Water solubility means that something mixes with water, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that water will wash it away.
Once applied to a cut stump or the foliage of a targeted plant, the herbicide is absorbed into the plant or stump making it immovable. The material is not washed off, but is held within the plant where it eventually degrades to non-phytotoxic (non-herbicidal) compounds.

Why TEC uses a herbacide rather than cutting away the vegatation.
Cutting vegetation in transmission rights of way is not only hard work, it can be dangerous. Please remember that we are very selective about the vegetation we are trying to control, so the work can’t be done by just anyone. Our current methods are intended to arrest the growth of invasive species that will grow up into our power lines and affect reliability, while promoting the growth of plants and shrubs that will inhibit re-growth of invasive species.
One of the issues with strictly cutting vegetation in transmission rights is the fact that re-sprouting occurs very quickly and trees grow back thicker and denser than before, rendering vegetation management that much more difficult.

Links of interest:
Alabama Vegetation Management Website

Information on Plantings, Trees, Beautification around Power Lines

Some tips on controlling unwanted growth of underbrush.

• Do not plant trees that grow tall near poles. Tall trees grow into lines and may present other safety risks. When trimmed or removed, poles will be exposed again.
• Do not plant vines that will grow up poles. Vines on poles may pose a threat to utility workers, when climbing poles.
• In addition, care should be taken that trees are planted at least six feet to the side of underground facilities, such as electric, gas and telephone lines, and television cables.

Keeping right of ways clean helps keep outages to a minimum

Trees coming in contact with energized lines can create safety hazards to both life and property as well as cause electric service interruptions to the Cooperative’s members. These interruptions can be an inconvenience to many members but can also create a life and death situation when power is interrupted to hospitals, schools or individuals on electrically operated life-support systems. In order to reduce these problems the Cooperative has undertaken an active line clearance and tree trimming program. Contract tree trimming crews are utilized on a continuous basis throughout the service area trimming and in some cases removing trees under or within the general vicinity of the Cooperative's distribution lines. Qualified line clearance tree-trimming contractors do the actual work in the field.

Members should take this into consideration when planting new trees and avoid planting them in the vicinity of the Cooperative’s distribution lines. If this cannot be avoided the trees planted should be of a variety that grows to a limited height.

Some of the varieties of trees recommended are:

• amur maple
• flowering crabapple
• serviceberry
• redbud
• hawthorn
• kousa dogwood
• japanese lilac
• plum
• star magnolia.

Tree Pruning:
It is important for members to realize that line clearance pruning of trees is different than ornamental trimming. The intent is to provide enough clearance from electrical lines so that the tree will not have to be trimmed again for aproximately four years. In most cases this clearance is approximately eight (8) feet. Trimming is performed according to the American National Standards Institute tree pruning gidelines to protect the health of the tree after the trimming is complete. This requires that cuts be made at a lateral branch that is large enough to assume the primary growth role or at the point where the branch attaches to the trunk. Methods used for line clearance trimming include side-pruning, crown reduction, crown raising and vee-pruning.

Operations - Barry Spiller
cspiller@tombigbee.net
205.468.3325
Ext. 233