Regulators Halt 'Enhanced Tree Trimming' Until Review Is Completed

The aggressive utility tree trimming that has begun in towns across the state has been put on hold by regulators until they complete their ongoing investigation of the practice.

"We need a time out to balance competing needs," Arthur H. House, chairman of the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, said in a written statement.

"One as established by law is Connecticut's demonstrated need for more aggressive tree trimming to secure the reliability of vital utility services. The second need, especially articulated by communities in the New Haven and Hamden areas, is to avoid unnecessary eradication of trees and instead proceed with selective trimming."

Regulators asked Tuesday for Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating to voluntarily curtail their enhanced tree trimming and enhanced tree removal, though they do not want to limit routine trimming.

Enhanced tree trimming, an approach to roadside vegetation adopted by both electric utilities after major storms in recent years, has come under fire by residents across the state who say the policy is too indiscriminate toward healthy trees and does little to manage the roadside forest in a sustainable way.

Utility executives say that the strong policy is needed to protect the state's electric distribution system, and that changes to allow more trees near power lines would result in increased risk of outages during storms. The enhanced trimming, enabled by a recent law, allows utilities to cut back branches or remove whole trees within 8 feet of utility poles or wires, all the way from the ground to the sky.

News of the moratorium follows weeks of public hearings on the policies of Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.

"It's a good development, and I hope that the utilities will honor the request immediately," said Mary-Michelle Hirschoff, a spokeswoman from the Garden Club of New Haven.

"This is something I think everyone at the Hamden meeting hoped would occur," she said. "As public utilities, I think they should respond to the public concerns and to the request of the regulatory authority."

In some areas, like New Haven and Hamden, tree advocates said the policy would have drastic impacts on neighborhood beauty, in addition to a host of other benefits that include reductions in heating bills, air quality benefits, property value increases, and storm water management.

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Regulators Halt 'Enhanced Tree Trimming' Until Review Is Completed