South River EMC's right-of-way (ROW) program has been a focus of improvement for the Cooperative. The ROW program aims to keep the 4,765 miles of electric line that serve you, clean and free of debris each year.

We use a combination of services to do this, which includes an environmentally safe compound spray that is formulated for the areas where work is being performed. We also send crews out to trim trees that could impact electric service.

Last year, we wrote about a company we are working with called AiDash, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help pinpoint our ROW efforts. We have some updates to share with you.

"We believe the program will benefit us in the tree trimming bid process, as we will be better able to identify the line mileage in need of trimming. Also, we will have a better idea where hot spots are and can be proactive in trimming before calls come in."

As a refresher, AiDash takes an innovative approach to ROW using satellites and algorithms to establish trimming and maintenance schedules for electric systems. This is important to us, because it helps the Cooperative better manage costs, as well as providing you with uninterrupted service, as much as possible.

Done by tracking the growth of plants, the ability to do this helps reduce scheduling and work costs for South River EMC by sending crews to specifically targeted areas.

While we are learning from our data, we won't begin full implementation until 2024. What we have learned is that over half of our mileage has no vegetation risk, which means we're doing a good job so far in our ROW efforts.

Now, according to AiDash assessments, our trimming can be performed on an approximate six-year rotation, as oppose to the eight-year rotation we're currently working on. However, this type of reporting will help us focus on those areas in need of trimming so it can be done in a time-sensitive manner.

A fall-in risk assessment was also done. This assessment identifies trees found outside of where we have cleared our right-of-way, that trees, if they fall, are large enough to impact electric delivery.

Knowing this will help South River EMC plan accordingly, so we can stay ahead of issues that will interrupt your service, as well as saving us in repair costs.

"We believe the program will benefit us in the tree trimming bid process, as we will be better able to identify the line mileage in need of trimming," said Chuck Richardson, vice president of engineering and operations. "Also, we will have a better idea where hot spots are and can be proactive in trimming before calls come in."

That's a total 937.4 miles of line being cleared in 2023.