Reliable electric service doesn't happen by accident. It requires continual investment, disciplined planning, and the willingness to solve problems before they become outages.
Keeping trees away from power lines is one of the most effective ways to do provide safe and reliable power at the lowest possible cost.
As you've likely noticed, Tri-County Electric Cooperative has significantly increased tree trimming and tree removal efforts throughout our service territory. This page explains why that work is taking place, how priorities are established, and what you can expect.
Trees remain the leading cause of power outages.
Branches contacting power lines, entire trees falling, and continued tree growth near energized facilities can interrupt service, create safety hazards, and increase restoration costs.
Every electric utility invests in poles, wire, substations, and technology because those investments help restore power after an outage.
Keeping trees away from power lines does something even better: it helps prevent the outage from happening in the first place.
The best outage is the one that never occurs.
Over the past two years, Tri-County Electric Cooperative has strengthened its financial position through disciplined stewardship, and the purpose was never simply to improve financial metrics.
The purpose was to create the flexibility to invest more aggressively in reliability while continuing to keep electric rates stable for you.
One of those investments is tree trimming.
This year, the Cooperative increased its annual investment in tree trimming from approximately $8 million to approximately $15 million, allowing more work to be completed, more quickly, across the system.
Today, Members are beginning to see those investments where they matter most—in the field.
Trees didn't grow into power lines overnight, and restoring proper clearances across thousands of miles of electric line doesn't happen overnight either.
Like many of the Cooperative's long-term challenges, this one developed over many years, not months. Addressing it requires the same disciplined, sustained approach that has strengthened the Cooperative's financial position: identifying long-standing issues, making deliberate investments, and solving problems one step at a time.
Neither financial challenges nor operational challenges were created overnight, and neither are solved overnight.
The same discipline that strengthened the Cooperative's financial position in recent years is now strengthening the electric system it serves.
Tree work is not scheduled randomly.
Projects are prioritized where they provide the greatest reliability benefit based on factors such as:
One picture often explains the need for this work better than words.
Before: Trees growing into energized power lines.
After: Proper clearances restored.
Result: A stronger, safer, more reliable electric system.
Keeping trees away from power lines is about much more than cutting trees. It is one of the few investments that improves nearly every aspect of operating an electric system.
It helps:
Few investments improve reliability, safety, and long-term value for you as effectively as keeping trees away from power lines.
Not every tree that is trimmed or removed is dead, diseased, or unhealthy. Sometimes a healthy tree simply becomes a reliability and safety risk because of where it has grown in relation to power lines.
The goal is never to remove more trees than necessary.
The goal is to reduce outages before they happen—for the property owner, their neighbors, and every Member who depends on that section of the electric system.
No. Every location is evaluated individually. The objective is to maintain safe, reliable clearances while preserving as many trees as practical.
No. This increased investment is being funded through the Cooperative's stronger financial position rather than through a rate increase. Once completed, this effort will actually keep rates lower than they would otherwise be.
Keeping trees away from power lines is a permanent responsibility for every electric utility. The current accelerated effort addresses years of accumulated tree growth while establishing a stronger maintenance cycle that will improve reliability for years to come.
If you have questions about tree work near your property, please contact our Member Experience team.
Phone: 817.444.3201
Email: memberservice@tcectexas.com
Online Contact Form: https://submit.tcectexas.com/Forms/ContactUs