Tolland A Town Of Emphasis For Eversource Tree Work In 2021

TOLLAND, CT — Eversource Energy Thursday pledged a $72 million investment in its ongoing tree-trimming and removal program for 2021. Nearly 100 miles of roads in Tolland are included in the program.

"New Englanders saw firsthand the massive devastation caused by Tropical Storm Isaias and the powerful microburst that struck the Branford area last summer – bringing down thousands of trees around the state," Utility officials said in the announcement. "Those violent storms are a clear reminder of just how destructive trees can be to the electric system."

Eversource Thursday was also encouraging customers to maintain trees on their own property that can interfere with electric lines or equipment.

"As we saw last summer during some severe storms, trees are the number one cause of power outages and trimming trees away from electric lines and removing dead or hazard trees is critical — especially as fierce weather seems to impact our region more frequently," Eversource Vegetation Management Manager Alan Carey said. "The long-lasting effects of drought and the gypsy moth and emerald ash borer infestations have severely weakened trees around the state. While we trim and remove hazardous trees every day along state and local roads, we can’t stress enough the importance of communities and customers working collaboratively with us to support these efforts so we can reduce the number of tree-related power outages."

Eversource officials said the utility will be trimming trees along more than 4,200 miles of overhead distribution lines around the state.

Among the 126 communities where tree trimming will be performed this year, some of the most extensive work is scheduled to be done in:

• Wilton (along more than 131 miles of roads)
• East Haddam (114 miles)
• Stonington (100 miles)
• Tolland (96 miles)
• Southington (93 miles)

Other communities where tree work will be completed include Bristol, Canterbury, Glastonbury, Newington, Ridgefield and Stamford, according to the announcement.

Eversource notifies customers in advance if work is necessary on their property.

"As Eversource continues working to address the widespread tree mortality in Connecticut, the crisis is a shared responsibility between utilities and tree owners," Eversource officials said. "We are reminding customers that homeowners are responsible for tree maintenance on their own property. That includes keeping branches away from the lower-voltage service wires connecting their homes and businesses to the main utility lines on the street. Eversource strongly recommends customers contact a professional tree service to perform this work."

Customers can see a short video about the energy company's tree trimming efforts, and the vegetation management program at Eversource.com.