Austin Energy Speaker to Address Tree Trimming

Michele McAfee from Austin Energy will be at the February 28th ANA EC meeting to discuss the City of Austin’s often controversial tree trimming program.

AE must prune for safety (lines contacting trees can be hot) and reliability. AE is on a 4-5 year schedule for tree trimming around their lines.

The current current trimming is taking place in the southeast corner of Allandale. (Map of trimming here: Download nl11.pdf)

The guidelines are that trees be trimmed at least 6-13 feet from the top-most high-voltage lines (those attached to the top of the pole) and 4-9 feet from the lower low-voltage lines. These are guidelines - many times cuts have to be made farther back on a branch in order to ensure that proper pruning practices are followed. Some trees may need to be removed entirely as there is no way to prune them properly and have the tree survive or be aesthetically pleasing. AE has a program of free trees as replacements for many of the problem trees that grow near the lines.

Austin Energy first alerted the ANA in August, and followed up with flyers at each impacted address, so that the neighborhood could b e alerted in advance.

During this process, each property owner may request the following actions from Austin Energy and its Contract personnel.

• You may request an on-site meeting with a Contractor representative to review the proposed tree work
• You may request an on-site meeting with an Austin Energy employee to discuss the proposed tree work
• You may request to have a third party present during the meetings
• You may request modifications to the proposed tree work
• You may request to not have trees removed on your property
• You may request to be present when the tree work is performed
• You will receive a written work plan (VWP) documenting the final plan for your property
• You may request pricing on potential electric system modification to minimize or reduce tree work

Austin Energy is available to answer any questions or concerns about the proposed tree work and also any possible tree replacements for individual properties.

If you or any of your neighbors have any questions or concerns, and cannot attend the February 28th presentation, please contact Michele McAfee at 322-6932 or contact Ray Henning at 322-6930.

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Original notification letter sent to Allandale.  Download allan.doc