Educational Sessions

In 2012 the New England utility Unitil implemented a companion program to its standard vegetation management program in New Hampshire.  In the Northeast, storm events were occurring with increasing frequency and severity and customers were looking to the utility for a response.  Unitil implemented a pilot program aimed at vegetation management storm resiliency to test the effects of reducing tree exposure on reliability during storm events.  After three years of regulatory approval for the program and sustaining two major storms – the results of ground to sky pruning and intensive risk tree removal are emerging.  Unitil is evaluating the program’s cost to implement, reliability effects, and public acceptance against the costs of storm preparation, restoration and response, as well as the storm costs for both business and residential customers.  Actual video survey footage of tree damage during the restoration period following a major snowstorm has aided greatly in the program’s evaluation.