PSEG Long Island Recognized by Arbor Day Foundation

Company’s tree-trimming standards provide outstanding electric reliability while also promoting tree health

(UNIONDALE, N.Y. – April 26, 2021) – Arbor Day, April 30, is when the nation celebrates the importance of trees to the health and beauty of our communities. As the day approaches, PSEG Long Island is proud to announce it has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation for employing tree-friendly practices when trimming branches around the power lines that are essential to people’s lives.

The company received the Tree Line USA award, which is given to utilities nationwide that demonstrate a commitment to healthy trees.

PSEG Long Island contractors are required to trim according to standards set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Best Management Practices defined by the International Society of Arboriculture.

When the company launched in 2014, PSEG Long Island updated the tree-trim plan for Long Island and the Rockaways, trimming more miles of circuits each year so that every circuit is trimmed in a four-year cycle, instead of every five years. As a result, the number of customers affected by tree-related outages in areas where we have trimmed trees has been reduced by 33%.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation for our tree trimming practices. We want healthy trees in our communities because they are beautiful, and also because they provide shade in the summer and absorb wind gusts in winter that can reduce our customers cooling and heating costs,” said Patrick Dempsey, PSEG Long Island’s director of Training Support and Contract Services. “The tree-trimming standards we use were developed to protect the health of the tree, while also ensuring we have enough line clearance to minimize the chances of branches causing an outage.”

Further supporting the mission of Arbor Day, PSEG Long Island also encourages customers to be smart about which species of trees to plant near power lines. Click here for a useful PDF from the Arbor Day Foundation.

To learn more about PSEG Long Island’s award-winning Vegetation Management program, visit https://www.psegliny.com/safetyandreliability/minimizingoutages/treetrimming.

Founded in 1972 — the centennial of the first Arbor Day observance — the Arbor Day Foundation is the largest 501(c)3 nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. More than 1 million members, supporters and valued partners have helped the group plant more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world to ensure a greener and healthier future for everyone.

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PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company.