Articles and Reports

UVM Regulatory Requirements 2006-2009
Excerpt from Book 4 of 2010 CN Utility Consulting Benchmark
In Book 4 of the 2010 CN Utility Consulting Utility Vegetation Management Benchmark and Industry Intelligence, readers are introduced to the growing array of regulations related to utility vegetation management (UVM) activities in the United States. The report focuses primarily on requirements promulgated by state public utility commissions, providing a state by state description and discussion of current and proposed regulations and their impacts on UVM. The report also covers trends in UVM regulatory requirements, jurisdiction issues, fire rules and regulations, and an overview of different types of UVM requirements. To read the full report, click here.

Utility Vegetation Management Final Report
Published March 2004
This report was prepared by CN Utility Consulting (CNUC) after the company was commissioned to support the federal investigation of the August 14, 2003 Northeast Blackout. In the report, CNUC concluded that overgrown trees were the cause of the blackout and that the conditions that led up to the event could be found in most of North America. The report also presents a contextual overview of the UVM industry. View this report.

Vegetation Management: Pay Me Now, or Pay Me More Later
Authored by Sam Quattrocchi, Dow AgroSciences July 2004
In this article, Dow AgroSciences presents an economic argument for performing preventive, rather than reactive, vegetation management maintenance. Citing the CN Utility Consulting Utility Vegetation Management Final Report, the report disputes the common and recent practice of putting off tree pruning and herbicide applications to improve the bottom line. “As reinforced by the Aug. 14, 2003, blackout,” the report says, “it only takes one neglected tree to spark havoc on a transmission grid.” The report highlights several utilities that have developed consistent right-of-way maintenance cycles in recent years and credit the measure for drastically reducing outages. IT also presents suggestions for gaining management support of the need for a stable UVM budget. View this article.