PHILADELPHIA (April 10, 2017) – PECO customers in eastern and north Bucks County will benefit from a $3 million investment to trim trees and remove vegetation along 373 miles of aerial electric lines. This project, which will begin in early April, will be completed by the end of July and will improve electric service for more than 36,000 customers.

This work will occur in the townships of Bristol, Falls, Lower Makefield, Newtown, Northampton, Solebury, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown. Work will also take place in the boroughs of Morrisville, New Hope, Newtown, Tullytown and Yardley.

“Vegetation growth causes about one-third of all electric outages,” said Dave Weaver, vice president of Technical Services. “Our comprehensive vegetation management program is vital to safely keeping the lights on for our customers.”

Each year, PECO invests approximately $500 million to enhance its electric infrastructure, including preventive maintenance and equipment upgrades to provide safe and reliable energy to customers. As part of this work, PECO will invest about $41 million in vegetation management work around 3,400 miles of aerial electric lines in 2017.

PECO’s vegetation management crews are trained in arboricultural techniques as defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standard. This standard takes into account the type and location of the tree, its relation to overhead equipment and overall health of the tree. Customers are notified before work begins in their area. 

For more information, call 1-800-494-4000 or visit peco.com and click on the Trees and Powerlines link under the Safety & Community tab on the home page.

###

PECO, founded in 1881, is Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility. Headquartered in Philadelphia, PECO delivers energy to more than 1.6 million electric customers and more than 516,000 natural gas customers in southeastern, Pennsylvania. The company’s 2,500 employees are dedicated to the safe and reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas as well as enhanced energy management conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. The company also has an estimated annual economic impact of $4.3 billion in Pennsylvania, supporting more than 8,700 local jobs and producing $732 million in labor income. PECO is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's only Fortune 100 utility and leading competitive energy provider. For more information visit PECO.com, and connect with the company on Facebook and Twitter.

If you are a member of the media and would like to receive PECO news releases via email, please send your email address to PECO.Communication@exeloncorp.com.