PECO wants residents in areas of Chester County  to know that it is working to keep them out of the dark.

Pruning and selective tree removal is being performed in Caln, East Caln, East Bradford, East Brandywine, East Marlborough, London Grove, New Garden, Newlin, Pocopson, Upper Uwchlan, Uwchlan, West Bradford, West Goshen, and West Marlborough Townships, and the Boroughs of Downingtown and West Chester, a PECO news release said.

These areas as part of a  $1.7 million investment along 300 miles of aerial electric lines in Chester County to improve electric service reliability for about 30,000 customers, the release said. Work began in mid-August and will continue through December. Preventive pruning around aerial power lines is vital to providing reliable electric service since vegetation causes about one-third of all electric outages, the release said.

“Our goal is to reduce the number of tree-related outages and keep the lights on for our customers,” said Alex Brown, manager of Vegetation Management.  “Preventive maintenance programs like tree pruning and other vegetation management play key roles in providing the safe and reliable electric service our customers expect.”

PECO’s vegetation management crews are trained in arboricultural pruning techniques, as defined in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A300 Standard. This standard takes into account the type and location of the tree in relation to the overhead wires and the overall health of the tree.  PECO notifies property owners prior to work beginning in each community. Customers in areas where line clearance work is completed experience fewer outages and a significant improvement in electric service reliability, the release said.

Customers with questions should call 1-800-311-6345, ext. 915, for more information, or visit www.peco.com and click on the Trees and Powerlines link under the Customer Service/Service Request tab on the homepage.