Trees are a beautiful and important part of our community. They provide shade, improve property value, and support local wildlife. But when trees grow too close to power lines, they can also become one of the leading causes of power outages, safety hazards—and increasingly, wildfire risk.
That’s why Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative (CCEC) takes a proactive, year-round approach to managing vegetation along power lines, helping keep your lights on while protecting both people and property.
Protecting Power, Preventing Risk
When branches or entire trees come into contact with power lines, they can cause outages affecting hundreds of homes and businesses. In dry or storm-prone conditions, this contact can also increase the risk of sparks that could lead to wildfires. Keeping areas around power lines, known as rights-of-way, clear is essential for reliability and community protection.
Proper maintenance allows crews to safely access equipment and restore power quickly. Without it, outages would happen more often and last longer.
Proactive Maintenance That Delivers Results
CCEC uses a mix of methods to manage vegetation, including trimming, mowing, and carefully targeted herbicide treatments. This approach, called Integrated Vegetation Management, helps control unwanted growth while allowing grasses and other beneficial plants to thrive.
A key part of this strategy is cycle trimming, where vegetation is maintained on a consistent schedule. Instead of reacting to overgrown trees after they become a problem, crews proactively trim areas before vegetation reaches power lines.
This forward-looking approach has shown real results, including fewer outages and a noticeable reduction in service order work related to vegetation issues. It also proved especially effective during the historic snowstorm in January 2026, when areas that had been recently maintained experienced very few tree-related outages compared to areas that had not yet been trimmed.
When trimming trees, crews follow industry standards that focus on tree health. Instead of harsh cutting methods like “topping,” they use natural pruning techniques that reduce stress on trees and help prevent future hazards.
Planning for Weather and Wildfire Risk
Weather can weaken even healthy trees. Events like heavy rain, hurricanes, drought, and even snow and ice, can damage root systems and limbs, making trees more likely to fall or break. Periods of drought can also dry out vegetation, increasing wildfire risk.
Crews regularly inspect trees both inside and outside of the rights-of-way and remove those that pose a risk, helping prevent outages and reduce the chance of fire-related incidents.
How You Can Help Keep Power Safe and Reliable
You play an important role in keeping power reliable and communities safe:
- Plant trees a safe distance from power lines
- Keep areas around poles and transformers clear
- Avoid placing structures that block access to utilities
- Call 811 before any digging project
These simple steps can help prevent outages, reduce fire risk, and allow crews to respond quickly when needed.
Working Together for a More Reliable System
Vegetation management is about more than trimming trees—it’s about protecting your power, your safety, and your community. By combining proactive cycle trimming, a balanced management approach, and community cooperation, CCEC continues to reduce outages, limit fire hazards, control costs, and keep electricity flowing reliably every day.