Liberty Utilities announces that the utility is committed to delivering safe, reliable electric service, and part of that commitment means managing trees and other vegetation around power lines. “Our vegetation management program helps reduce wildfire risks and outages, and keeps our environment healthy,” said Liberty. “We go beyond just meeting regulatory requirements. Through partnerships, innovative tools and community projects, we take a proactive and thoughtful approach to managing vegetation to improve and protect our communities’ natural environment.”
During a recent open house event, Liberty staff noted quite a bit of interest from the Portola city manager and others in the vegetation management work that has been done in and around the Portola area. To address this interest, the utility is reaching out to customers with more information.
Vegetation management practices
Liberty checks for trees or vegetation that could interfere with power lines in two ways:
- On-the-ground inspections: Liberty’s certified arborists routinely conduct vegetation inspections, checking for clearance issues or hazardous trees that could impact electrical infrastructure. There are 40.5 miles of electrical infrastructure in the Portola area.
- Light detection and ranging technology: LiDAR is a remote sensing method that uses a pulsed laser to measure variable distances between objects to determine acceptable clearance or areas that need treatment. Liberty performs LiDAR inspections annually.
For fall-in mitigation, Liberty’s certified arborist identifies trees that meet the criteria for mitigation and the utility removes or treats those trees to protect the electrical infrastructure. In 2024, Liberty treated or removed 140 such trees in Portola.
Liberty also prunes trees and branches to maintain safe distances from power lines. In 2025, the utility identified over 75 locations in Portola for clearance work.
Every year, Liberty clears vegetation that may be flammable around power poles in the Portola area, especially around equipment like fuses and transformers. This year’s work is scheduled for June.
Liberty recycles wood and plant debris created during maintenance work to reduce fire risks and promote sustainability.
At the Portola substation, Liberty conducts biannual inspections and performs vegetation treatments to keep the facility safe and running smoothly.
Liberty announces it supports “Right Tree, Right Place”: planting the right trees in the right places. This means planting native or adapted plants that will not interfere with power lines. In 2024, the utility celebrated Arbor Day by donating 300 plants and shrubs to Portola residents. Powerline compatible plants are available to all Liberty customers by direct mail in 2025 and can be reserved here on a first-come, first-served basis.