Austin Energy ramps up effort to clear tree limbs for power lines

Austin Energy ramps up tree trimming efforts

The effort to clear tree limbs away from power lines is ramping up. The effort comes after a city audit last year revealed Austin Energy's goal to trim trees on a seven year cycle was behind schedule.

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin Energy has increased efforts to clear tree limbs from power lines following a city audit released last September.

The audit showed that Austin Energy was behind on its goal to trim trees at least once on a seven-year cycle.

To catch up, Austin Energy has increased its budget from $14million to $84 million, but even with all that extra cash, it may not be until 2028 before crews catch up.

A tree trimming crew for Austin Energy was in a neighborhood in Hyde Park in Central Austin on Wednesday cutting back tree limbs from power lines as one of about 70 teams managed by Austin Energy's VP for Electric System Field Operations, Elton Richards.

"At the end of the year, we will be up to 115 circuits trimmed to standard. That's out of 305 circuits that require some type of vegetation, and that could range anywhere from 9/10 of a mile up to 30 miles," said Richards.

Austin Energy in 'catch-up mode' after audit

A recent audit of Austin Energy finds that the utility did not proactively cut tree limbs ahead of February's ice storm, frozen limbs knocking out power lines and causing outages in already severe conditions.

"One of the things is taking us so long in this initial cut is, we're cutting so much vegetation all the way over the power lines, where it's not just a simple go out and do a trimming. We're doing full-blown cuts," he added.

Power outages after recent ice storms forced city leaders to rethink Austin’s love affair with its tree canopy. A choice between losing tree limbs or losing power is something residents like Kathy Young can no longer avoid.

"I’d like to see them protect the trees as much as they can," said Young.

But Young also said if a tree is a threat, it should be cut. The simple solution, and possibly the more cost-effective solution, is clear-cutting and removal of all vegetation within the five-foot utility easement. However, Austin Energy is not going to do that because of City policy.

"If you let me clearcut 60 feet on either side of the line, we would never have this issue again," said Richards.

Austin energy criticized in new audit

Austin energy did not do it's part to proactively cut tree limbs that brought down power lines during the February ice storm. That's the conclusion from an audit released by the city.

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Another risk factor involves tree limbs that have grown into the lower lines on utility poles, which are owned by phone, TV, and internet providers. During the recent ice storm, Richards said about half of the broken poles were caused by limbs that fell on the communications lines, not power lines. Clearing those lines would add an extra expense.

"Who's going to pay for that? That's what it comes down to. Cause you're talking about, I'd have to spend double the time to trim for the comms lines as I spend for the power line. And my job is the reliability of the customer, so that's where we're staying at," said Richards.

Austin Energy is taking a hard line approach to access. Residents who try to keep crews out of their backyards and away from their trees could end up in a dispute process similar to eminent domain. Only four access letters were issued last year.

"I think 2024 is going to be our baseline year to show what we can do with the crews that we have," said Richards.