VEGETATION
MANAGEMENT
Filsinger Energy Partners works with electric utilities looking to optimize their vegetation management programs in pursuit of significant impacts on cost reduction, service reliability, and public safety. We also provide consulting to liability insurance providers on their client’s level of risk of vegetation maintenance programs.
FEP vegetation management services create opportunities for energy companies to effectively manage preventive maintenance expenses, system reliability, and regulatory compliance. Our professional foresters and arborists mitigate the risks that can impact electric transmission and distribution facilities, such as severe weather, wildfires, declining forest health conditions, and other manmade and natural disasters.
PROFESSIONAL FORESTERS AND ARBORISTS
FEP employs professional foresters and arborists certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, each with extensive utility experience. Our team has a combined experience of over 100 years in the utility vegetation management industry. FEP field arborists perform inspections, data gathering, and reporting that focuses on safety, reliability, efficiency, quality, and customer service.
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES
Vegetation contact with electric transmission and distribution lines is a leading cause of power interruptions and a common cause of extended blackouts during disaster recovery efforts. Electric utilities are required to establish and maintain clearances between vegetation and its power lines for public safety and service reliability, and state and federal compliance. Our utility vegetation management services include:
-
Development of comprehensive vegetation management programs that focuses on ensuring public safety, improving service reliability, reducing long-term costs, stressing the quality of work, striving for customer satisfaction, developing sustainable environmentally sound management practices, and enhancing regulatory compliance;
-
Recommendations for best management practices based on safety and integrated vegetation management industry standards (ANSI Z133, ANSI A300);
-
Creation of vegetation management Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) plans, schedules, and methods to account for various transmission and distribution voltages, right of way specifications, vegetation species and growth rates, customer expectations, and compliance requirements;
-
Working with electric utilities and Federal and State agencies to develop comprehensive vegetation management programs that meet the objectives of all stake holders;
-
Vegetation/conductor condition surveys, vegetation regrowth, and workload studies;
-
Developing statistically valid probability models based on historical costs and events for vegetation management and reliability performance;
-
Financial assessments and models for utility wildfire mitigation funds for system operations and assets located in Wildland Urban Interface(WUI) areas;
-
Creation or audit of compliance documents for the NERC FAC-003-04 vegetation management standard;
-
Field inspections to verify compliance with the NERC FAC-003-04 vegetation management standard;
-
Litigation support in cases of electric utility issues with regard to vegetation management practices; and
-
Performance tracking and benchmarking of vegetation management programs.
