CHELCO, electric cooperatives, and other businesses around the country celebrate Lineworker Appreciation Day in April and Engineers Week in February. And June 8-14, we are excited to celebrate Right-of-Way Professionals Week to recognize the hard, physically-demanding, and occasionally dirty work that our friends at Southland Utility Services perform for us every day.

If you are not familiar with our relationship, Southland is CHELCO’s wholly-owned subsidiary specializing in vegetation management and underground construction. Additionally, you may have heard the phrase, “Call 8-1-1 before you dig.” Southland handles utility locate tickets to ensure individuals and contractors performing underground work are doing so in a safe manner, preventing incidents with underground utilities. Southland also works closely with CHELCO’s Meter Services Department to conduct field inspections on meters and related equipment.

This month, as we celebrate the right-of-way professionals at Southland, I’d like to share why it’s important to maintain vegetation around CHELCO’s power lines and other equipment.

System Reliability
Reliability is the primary focus in our strategy to maintain vegetation around CHELCO’s rights-of-way, and trees remain our most devastating opponent to meeting our goal of keeping your power on around the clock. 

In 2025, tree-related outages accounted for more than 2,678,000 member minutes, far more than motor vehicle accidents (512,000), lightning (499,000), and small critters (275,000) combined. The good news is that tree-related outages are one of the few types of outages that we can control or at least greatly impact.

Tree-related outages often take longer to restore because they can take down large spans of line and damage or destroy equipment attached to our poles. Furthermore, crews must safely cut, remove, and clear heavy limbs or entire trees before repairs can even begin.

Proactive, aggressive right-of-way maintenance reduces the likelihood of tree-related outages especially during hurricanes and thunderstorms and shortens restoration times when they do occur.

Improved Safety
Like CHELCO, Southland’s top priority is the safety and well-being of its employees and the community. Keeping a well-maintained right-of-way achieves that goal, while also keeping service reliable for our members. 

Trees and power lines can be a dangerous combination, especially during storms. Limbs or trees that come into contact with energized lines can create serious hazards, including downed power lines, which are not just inconvenient for those who lose power, but dangerous for anyone who comes near them. 

Maintaining accessible rights-of-way is equally important for the safety of lineworkers and contractors. During outages, crews often need direct access to reach poles and equipment quickly, often during difficult weather conditions or at night. Overgrown vegetation can delay restoration efforts by obstructing visibility and creating risks for those working to restore power.

While no system can be entirely storm-proof, proactive right-of-way maintenance is one of the best investments an electric utility can make to strengthen safety, reduce hazards, and protect our workers and communities. 

Thank You, Right-of-Way Pros!
As we enter summer, now is a great time to thank those who work in hot, dirty conditions to help us keep our service reliable and safe. Thank you, Southland Team!

Steve Rhodes
Chief Executive Officer