aikenco-op.org

It’s a safety issue

The importance of building respect, awareness for our power lines

Aiken Electric Cooperative is concerned about safety for our members and our employees year-round, yet spring poses unique threats with extreme temperatures and ice storms.

Falling tree limbs cause a majority of the outages that occur during storms. Trimming and removing trees that will directly impact power lines is a big part of ensuring member-owners are safe and have reliable and efficient service.

There are definite safety hazards associated with power lines – more than a thousand people are killed in electricity-related accidents each year.

Aiken Electric Cooperative maintains right-of-ways for over 5,000 miles of line, not only to ensure member reliability, but to ensure that members and operation crews are safe.

Focus on power line awareness this spring. There are precautions you can take:

• Explain to your children the dangers of playing in and around trees that are close to power lines, towers, or utility poles. 
• Don’t allow your children to fly kites unsupervised or anywhere near power lines or electrical towers.
• Before building a tree house for your children or beginning a new landscaping project, it is extremely important to consider the location of new trees. Trees add beauty to properties as well as provide shade in the heat of summer; but trees do conduct electricity and can create a safety risk if limbs grow too close to power lines.

Taking these precautions will provide a safe outdoor environment for you and your youngsters to enjoy.

Aiken Electric Cooperative works throughout our nine-county service area trimming or removing trees near rights of way. Please remember when you see these subcontract crews that they are doing their part to keep our children safe and electric service reliable and cost effective.

Visit http://www.safeelectricity.org for more information regarding electrical safety and how you can better protect your children from potential injuries and/or fatalities associated with power lines.

Gary
Gary L. Stooksbury
Chief Executive Officer