FPL reminds customers to plant the right tree in the right place

Tree branches and palm fronds are among the most common causes of power outages and flickers. That’s why Floridians should follow Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) “Right Tree, Right Place” tips:

Find the Right Tree—Trees come in many shapes and sizes, and often change dramatically over their lifetime. Before selecting a tree, FPL recommends learning what size the tree will be at maturity.

Choose the Right Place — Trees growing too close to power lines can interfere with electric service reliability for the tree owner and the local neighborhood. FPL encourages people to carefully consider where to plant trees and bushes to help ensure they won’t interfere with electric service.

Call Before You Dig — Not all utility lines are located overhead, so before reaching for a shovel, reach for the phone. Sunshine State One Call of Florida offers the free marking of underground lines and equipment. Call 811 two full business days before digging, and they’ll ensure that the location of all underground utilities are clearly marked.

Don’t Prune Near Power — FPL cautions its customers to never attempt to prune any vegetation growing near overhead power lines. Use only specially trained line clearing professionals to trim vegetation away from the lines. Before work begins, be sure to verify that the contractor is licensed and insured.

It is important that FPL customers keep these tips in mind as storm season approaches. Even a minor storm can damage trees and other vegetation, resulting in outages if they’re not planted in the right place. “FPL is committed to providing reliable electric service every day,” said Eli Viamontes, FPL’s manager of vegetation management.

“FPL delivered more than 99.98 percent service reliability to its customers in 2011” he added. “While no utility’s service can be 100 percent interruption-free, we’re working every day to strengthen reliability.”

For more information, visit FPL.com/trees.


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