Trends, Reports & Analyses
Co-op Program Keeps Trees Clear
With a service territory in some of North Carolina’s densest forests, right of way maintenance is a top priority for Four County EMC. It could easily be a daunting task, but the co-op has successfully streamlined it, working with members to get the job done.
A new tree is planted on a Four County EMC member’s property as part of the co-op’s Trade A Tree program. (Photo By: Four County EMC)
Before crews arrive, letters with the trimming schedule are sent to members in affected areas. “The first task in making any member program successful is communicating the program to the members,” said Dan Allen, vice president of customer services at Four County.
Those letters often lead to calls from members. Four County routes them to the co-op’s operations maintenance supervisor or a district operations supervisor. “Contact will be made with the member on the same day or the next business day,” Allen said. “This has proven to be a very valuable part of our program, and it helps make our right of way program successful.”
Speaking during Touchstone Energy’s® National Best in Class Virtual Conference, Allen also called it “extremely important from a member satisfaction and member relations standpoint” to leave a member’s property tidy.
“Our crews go to great lengths to clean up a member’s property before they leave,” Allen said.
Burgaw, N.C.-based Four County has a Trade A Tree program, which will remove any tree that is a safety hazard, and replace it with a new tree, planted away from power lines. Working with local nurseries, the co-op offers several choices, including red maple, dogwood and red oak. “Our success rate for the trees living is well above 95 percent,” Allen said, adding that members are very satisfied with the quality of the trees.
Since Trade A Tree’s 1993 start, the co-op has swapped 3,290 trees. “And that,” Allen noted, “is 3,290 trees that do not have to be trimmed every three years at a cost of $85 per tree.”
Related content: Touchstone Energy National Best in Class Virtual Conference