Orange and Rockland Utilities Wins National Tree-Care Honors

For the 23rd year in a row, The Arbor Day Foundation named Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) a “Tree Line USA Utility” in recognition of O&R’s national leadership in caring for trees while meeting electric and natural gas delivery service objectives for resiliency and reliability.

O&R manages vegetation along 3,800 miles of primary electric distribution and 475 miles of electric transmission in parts of New York and New Jersey. Included in the program is vegetation control to protect its electric substations and related facilities.

O&R makes a concerted effort to meet Tree Line USA requirements by training its workers in quality tree-care practices and by helping its customers select appropriate trees to plant near utility lines. That approach not only helps to provide beautiful trees for the future, but also long-term operational savings for the company.

O&R’s four-year distribution system tree-trimming cycle and its three-year transmission system cycle prune an estimated 225,000 trees per year and are credited with mitigating tree-related electric power outages. Tree contact is the primary cause of electric service interruptions in O&R’s heavily wooded 1,350 square-mile service area.