Your Cooperative has once again been named a Tree Line USA utility, earning the distinction for the 26th consecutive year.
Awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation, the Tree Line USA designation recognizes utilities that demonstrate best practices in tree care, worker training, public education and environmental stewardship. For REC, that recognition reflects a long-standing commitment to balancing safe, reliable electric service with responsible vegetation management.
That work has a direct impact on reliability. Trees cause 70% of power outages across the service territory. To reduce that risk, the Cooperative prunes approximately 20% of its 7,500 miles of overhead line each year and responds to roughly 3,000 annual tree-related inquiries from member-owners. REC also uses field observations, satellite data, GIS mapping and circuit analytics to identify trouble areas and guide proactive trimming.
The Cooperative’s continued inclusion in Tree Line USA underscores its commitment to safety, reliability and environmental stewardship.
“Being awarded the Tree Line USA designation again is indicative of our commitment to excellence in vegetation management,” said Cindy Musick, senior director - vegetation management. “Trees provide wildlife habitat, shade, clean air and water, energy savings and beauty, but they also cause most of our outages, so managing them wisely is important for continued reliability and quality of life of our members.”
