WATCH: Almost one year since Tropical Storm Arthur and the NB Power is blaming most of the power outages on a lack of tree trimming and now wants to be proactive. Laura Brown reports.
NEW MARYLAND, N.B. – The province’s power utility is investing millions more on its tree trimming program this year to boost grid reliability.
NB Power is investing $8 million in its tree maintenance program, which is almost $3 million more than last year.
The program is meant to prevent tree-related power outages during extreme weather events. Last year, post-tropical storm Arthur blew through on July 5, knocking out power to more than 120,000 homes and businesses for up to 10 days.
READ MORE: Tens of thousands without power as post-tropical storm Arthur hits N.B.
NB Power invested another $5.1 million in tree trimming after Arthur, but this year the utility is looking to trim trees before a possible weather event.
“Prior to Arthur, you’ve seen NB Power in the papers in respect to tree trimming, and it was always dealing with customers who basically didn’t believe we needed to cut their trees,” said NB Power CEO Gaëtan Thomas.
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“We tended to say, ‘OK we’ll try to cut the minimum.’ The trouble when you cut the minimum and you don’t go to the main trunk is you actually promote growth.”
That approach will cause a problem five to 10 years down the road, says Thomas.
READ MORE: Maritimes cleaning up after post-tropical storm Arthur ravages region
He said customers should have noticed a difference in service after Arthur.
“We’ve had a few severe storms through the winter and we’re able to recover most customers within 24 hours,” Thomas said.
However, some homeowners such as Carolyn Campbell are still feeling the loss. She watched crews cut down her 20-year-old maple trees Monday morning.
“Some of the ones that are near and dear to me are disappearing and I’m not feeling really good about it,” said Campbell.
Campbell lost power during post-tropical storm Arthur for five days. So she says, she understands why it has to be done.
“When Arthur happened last year, we realized there were problems,” she said. “We got a knock on the door to say we’d like to make this go away.”
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