The AES Corporation : Power Restored, But Diseased, Dying and Dead Trees Continue to Pose Threat to Electrical Service Says Dayton Power & Light
07/05/2012| 11:40am US/Eastern
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Property owners encouraged to help keep power supply from being
interrupted by removing dead and dying trees
Last night, power was restored to the last few Dayton Power & Light
customers affected by Friday's storm, but the cause of many of the
outages remains. The company reports that a significant amount of the
power disruption after the June 29 violent storm was caused by diseased,
dying and dead trees.
In particular, there are an increasing number of dead and dying ash
trees throughout the Miami Valley that threaten to damage power lines
when they fall. Besides the inconvenience to customers caused by these
trees falling on power lines and causing preventable outages, there is
also the potential for injury or death to customers in the vicinity of a
fallen line.
The primary danger is posed by ash trees that have been infected by the
Emerald Ash Borer. The ash tree-killing insects have spread to 63 Ohio
counties since first being identified in 2003 in Ohio. The DP&L service
area covers 24 counties. The infestation threatens 3.8 billion ash trees
in the state.
Ash trees damaged by the insects become unstable and may fall at any
time, posing a danger to people, property and power lines. The trees can
grow to be 60 feet tall and even if they are 10 feet away from power
lines, as required, they can fall on a line and take out power to
customers.
While there may be an expense for property owners to remove the damaged
trees, the potential for injuries, death and damage to property is far
worse. DP&L is encouraging property owners to do their part to protect
family and neighbors from injury and to help keep the power supply from
being interrupted: remove dead and dying trees and dispose of the debris
properly.
Because the Ash Borer has been found throughout most of Ohio, there are
no longer quarantine regulations in place within the state. But it is
still recommended that Ohioans exercise caution when moving firewood.
Additional information about the Emerald Ash Borer can be found at the Ohio
Department of Agriculture website.
DP&L trims tree limbs in its "right of way" year-round to prevent power
outages. There is an easement around power lines where the company has
the right of way to clear vegetation and trim trees. Tree trimming
improves the reliability of the electrical system, especially during
storms that bring high winds and ice.
Since 2008 DP&L has trimmed along 10,000 miles of its power lines. Below
are links to information for customers about trees and trimming on the
company's website:
Tree
Trimming
Plant
Smart!
Tree
Trimming Contractors
About The Dayton Power and Light Company and DPL Inc.
The
Dayton Power and Light Company is the principal subsidiary of DPL
Inc., a regional energy company.
DPL Inc.'s other subsidiaries include DPL Energy, LLC (DPLE) and DPL
Energy Resources, Inc. (DPLER), which also does business as DP&L Energy.
The Dayton Power and Light Company, a regulated electric utility,
provides service to over 500,000 retail customers in West Central Ohio;
DPLE engages in the operation of merchant peaking generation facilities;
and DPLER is a competitive retail electric supplier. DPL Inc., through
its subsidiaries, owns and operates approximately 3,800 megawatts of
generation capacity, of which 2,800 megawatts are coal-fired units and
1,000 megawatts are natural gas and diesel peaking units. Further
information can be found at www.dplinc.com.
DPL Inc. was acquired by The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) in 2011. AES is
a Fortune 200 global power company. It provides affordable, sustainable
energy to 27 countries through a diverse portfolio of distribution
businesses as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. Its
workforce of 27,000 people is committed to operational excellence and
meeting the world's changing power needs. AES' 2011 revenues were $17
billion and it owns and manages $45 billion in total assets. To learn
more, please visit www.aes.com.
Dayton Power & Light
News Media Contact:
Media line:
937-224-5940
Email: communications@dplinc.com
© Business Wire 2012
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