This week, customers in parts of Shreveport and Bossier City may see additional tree trimming crews at work as part of SWEPCO's ongoing commitment to providing safe, reliable power.
While this work may be especially visible in local neighborhoods, it's part of a much larger reliability effort taking place across Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.
Vegetation management remains one of the most effective ways to help prevent outages by keeping trees and branches safely away from power lines before they can cause service interruptions. That’s an important reason SWEPCO crews across Louisiana are working on nearly 2,000 miles of power line corridors as part of SWEPCO's vegetation management program. Additional reliability work is also underway through system maintenance and other grid improvement initiatives designed to strengthen the electric system and improve service for customers.
Crews began the work on Aug. 17, with this phase of tree trimming expected to continue through late October, weather permitting. As part of SWEPCO's ongoing reliability program, vegetation management work will continue in other areas throughout the year.
"Even if customers don't see crews working on their street, they still benefit from the work," explained Region Forestry Manager Matt Tarpley. "When we strengthen a circuit as a result of tree trimming, we're helping improve reliability for everyone connected to it."
In the Shreveport and Bossier City area, customers may see crews working along roadways, in neighborhoods and, where utility easements exist, in backyard areas. This work may result in temporary traffic impacts in some locations. Once trimming activities are complete, crews will return to remove debris.
The work taking place in Northwest Louisiana is one piece of a broader company-wide effort focused on reliability. Every tree trimmed, every right-of-way maintained and every mile of line cleared helps reduce the risk of outages and supports the reliable service customers count on every day.
As part of SWEPCO's commitment to keeping the lights on, this important "blue-sky" work continues year-round to help ensure the electric system is ready when customers need it most.