Trimming Trees to Ensure Reliable Services

Trees are important to everyone. Trees furnish shade, beautify the property around our homes and enhance the environment in which we live. However, as important as trees are, they are the leading cause of power outages.

During severe weather, tree limbs can snap off and damage our equipment. To prevent trees located along our power lines from causing power outages and to help ensure reliable service to our customers, the City of Alexandria Electric Distribution Department employs qualified personnel to trim trees that may interfere with electric lines or cause a safety hazard.

The frequency with which we trim trees in a particular section of the City varies according to the growth rate of trees in the area. Typically, tree trimmers will visit a residential neighborhood once every three to five years.

Providing reliable service to our customers is one of our highest priorities. We know that it is inconvenient to be without electric service, and, although it is not possible to eliminate all power interruptions, we are actively taking steps to decrease not only the total number of outages, but also the length of these outages when they occur.

City of Alexandria Electric Distribution Department has an aggressive maintenance schedule in place to trim trees along our rights-of-way. Please be patient if you feel that you have trees in your area that need to be trimmed. We're making our way to your neighborhood on a carefully planned schedule that covers every mile of every circuit in our service area.

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for more detailed information about out trimming program.