Electric Utility Good Shepherd

Trees are the answer to a lot of problems: summer heat and desertification to name a few. But trees cause some problems, too, especially for electric companies. A falling branch can bring down a power line and a tree that grows too close to electrified cable can ignite. To keep the juice flowing along the broad transmission corridors called rights-of-way, utilities regularly clear the vegetation. Like many companies, Public Service of New Hampshire used to spray saplings in these corridors with herbicides. In 1982 it starting mowing and hand cutting, at a cost of over a million dollars a year. This year it has a new idea: Grazing Power. Kim Motylewski has our report on.