Westar Energy, like many other electric utilities, is always looking for ways to get through more miles at a lower cost when it comes to vegetation management. This was especially important on a recent project in which the utility had to trim 1,900 miles of distribution right-of-way.
Much of the contract included areas that were unreachable with large mechanical trimmers, which were commonly used by Westar’s contractor, Wright Tree Service. The contractor’s central division often relied on two large-scale mechanical trimmers with saw blades mounted on long booms to trim branches near utility lines. Although these machines have helped increase efficiency, the sheer size of the units has limited their use. Because they are so big, they can only be used on rights-of-way in rural areas…
