About the Program
maintaining safe, reliable power
The beauty of the Puget Sound area is tied to its lush, abundant trees. However, trees that grow into or near power lines can cause concern. During storms, limbs and branches can become entangled with or bring down power lines, causing outages and safety hazards.
About 2,000 power outages per year can be traced back to trees. That's why PSE commits more than $12 million annually toward tree maintenance. Watch this short video to learn more about our program.
Trimming for Safety and Tree Health
Puget Sound Energy makes every effort to let trees grow naturally. But trees and branches within a 12-foot radius of power lines typically need to be addressed. For "at-risk" trees outside this radius and on private property, our certified arborists work with communities and property owners to trim or remove these potentially dangerous trees.
Learn more with these brochures:
While we make every effort to maintain trees as they are, safety is our higher priority. Where adequate power line clearance can be achieved through trimming, our crews use natural pruning techniques. Limbs and branches are removed where the tree would normally shed them, and future growth is redirected away from power lines. In select cases where pruning does not prevent a particular threat to safety, arborists will recommend tree removal. As a general rule, PSE does not top trees.
Tree Maintenance Program Highlights
- PSE crews trim identified limbs that may cause safety or outage problems
- To offset tree removal and trimming, PSE devotes about $500,000 each year to planting new trees
- PSE is a Tree Line USA award recipient from the National Arbor Day Foundation – an honor we have proudly held for more than 13 consecutive years