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ALBANY, Ore. – Pacific Power is performing tree maintenance work this month in the Riverview, West High, Santiam, Geary, Hill Street and Industrial neighborhoods to increase the reliability and safety of electricity delivery.

"Oregonians love their trees, and managing the trees and vegetation that grows near power lines is an important part of the company’s safety and reliability programs," said Jay Neil, Pacific Power forester. "When storms come, trees and foliage can wreak havoc on the system of poles and wires that delivers power to customers’ homes and businesses. Limbs can fall into power lines, causing outages or starting fires. Our goal is to make sure our customers are safe, and we do whatever we can to keep the power on."

Pacific Power’s work will begin with on-site inspections and contacting customers. Crews will prune tree limbs and brush from around all electrical equipment and wires. Owners or managers of rental properties in the maintenance areas should contact Pacific Power at 888-221-7070 to make a tree-trimming request. A representative will make contact to set up an on-site meeting to review the work that is needed. Customers interested in receiving free wood chips can contact the company.

Riverview and West High, including west and southwest Albany with the northern boundary being the Willamette River, the west boundary being Bryant and Riverside Drives, the south boundary being Highway 34 and the east boundary being Pacific Boulevard north to and along Vine Street;
Santiam, Geary and Hill Street, including southeast Albany with the north boundary being Santiam Boulevard, west to Pacific Boulevard, south to SE 38th Avenue and east to SE Geary Street (south of Queen Avenue) and Interstate 5 (north of Queen Avenue);
Industrial, including an area that extends north to the Willamette River, west to Geary Street, south to Santiam Boulevard and east to Interstate 5.

"The company uses pruning methods that cause the least amount of damage to the trees by trying to direct future tree growth away from the power lines," Neil said. "Our arborists are very knowledgeable about the proper way to prune trees, and they use specially designed equipment to work near the high-voltage power lines."

Pacific Power’s forestry program has been certified by the National Arbor Day Foundation and recognizes ongoing educational training with employees and contractors and for promoting the planting of the right trees in the right places. For information or for a free copy of Pacific Power’s Small Trees for Small Places booklet, call toll free 888-221-7070 or visit www.pacificpower.net.

Pacific Power strives to promote innovation and works to increase the visibility of clean and renewable energy generation technologies through education and community outreach. Pacific Power is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and provides electric service to more than 700,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. It is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, providing approximately 1.7 million customers with reliable, efficient energy. The company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment.