ESSENTIAL Energy pro-actively undertakes vegetation management around powerlines to maintain minimum safety clearances and protect public safety and the reliability of the electricity supply, a spokesperson has said.
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Responding to the letter written by Goulburn Mulwaree Council about their tree pruning program, as reported in Wednesday’s Goulburn Post, the energy provider said their “comprehensive vegetation management program aims to strike a balance between preserving vegetation, maintaining the streetscape and ensuring power safety and reliability for the community”.
However, the spokesperson confirmed that “a small number of the 3,000 trees trimmed by the contractor in the past month have been identified as not meeting Essential Energy’s expectations”.
“Essential Energy has met with Goulburn Mulwaree Council on several occasions in recent weeks to discuss their concerns about vegetation management work being undertaken across the town,” the spokesperson told the Post.
“Through these discussions, Essential Energy is proposing to better inform councils on our vegetation clearing plans by providing forward notice and seeking feedback prior to commencing work.”
“Essential Energy is also working closely with its vegetation contractor to ensure that the quality of the work performed is consistent with the required standards, including Australian Standard AS4373 (Pruning of Amenity Trees).
“Essential Energy has addressed these issues with the contractor and will continue to monitor the progress of the works as they near completion.”
The level of clearance work undertaken by Essential Energy’s vegetation contractors can vary according to factors such as the extent of disease in trees and the discovery of dangerous limbs.
“As Essential Energy’s operations are funded by our customers, we have a responsibility to ensure that our vegetation management costs are prudent and that we operate as efficiently as possible. Clearing to lesser standards would mean additional costs associated with more frequent vegetation maintenance work,” the spokesperson said.
Essential Energy had said it will continue to work with Goulburn Mulwaree Council around immediate and longer term strategies for managing council trees around the power network and address the expectations and responsibilities of all stakeholders.
