West Columbus: Ongoing Forestry Work to Keep Your Power on & Protect the Grid

Trees are an important part of your community. As part of our ongoing efforts to provide reliable electric service and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, our forestry crews continue to trim and remove trees away from the high-voltage transmission and distribution electric lines in Hilliard, Upper Arlington and surrounding areas. We know you may have questions — below is more information about what you can expect and why the work must be completed.

Federal & State Regulatory Requirements

This proactive forestry work is critical in helping to prevent power outages and providing our crews with safe access for routine maintenance and equipment repairs. A single tree branch on a distribution power line can disrupt power for thousands of customers, while tree contact on a higher-voltage transmission line can cause widespread, extended outages across multiple states and regions.

North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)

NERC requires utilities, like AEP Ohio, to maintain a minimum distance between transmission lines and nearby vegetation. Our foresters must adhere to NERC requirements to ensure a reliable grid in Ohio and beyond.

Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO)

We have an obligation to provide you and your neighbors with safe, reliable power. The PUCO mandates that we trim and remove trees on our distribution electric circuits every four years.

Whether it's trimming or removing trees around transmission or distribution power lines, we work to balance the need for reliable service with respect for the natural environment.

What's the difference between transmission and distribution lines?

Once power is generated, it moves through high-voltage transmission power lines — you'll often recognize their tall steel towers and poles in your community. This high-voltage electricity travels long distances until it arrives at a substation in your area. From here, it travels shorter distances through distribution power lines and equipment to power your home or business.

What is NERC and how does it help protect the grid?

Tree contact with transmission lines is a leading cause of electric power outages and a common cause of past regional blackouts, including the August 2003 blackout that affected 50 million people in the Northeast United States and Canada. Following the 2003 blackout and subsequent federal legislation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission designated the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), with the responsibility to develop and enforce standards to ensure the reliability of the Bulk Power System, including the Reliability Standard that addresses vegetation management on rights-of-way, FAC-003-4. Non-compliance can lead to significant penalties for utilities.

Sources: NERC and FERC

Planned Forestry Work

Hilliard Area: Hayden-Roberts 345kV High-Voltage Transmission Line Forestry Work
Timing: January 2025 - February 2025
Work Planned: Forestry crews will remove trees around one of AEP Ohio's high-voltage transmission lines and equipment. Work will begin at Hayden Substation off Hayden Run Road and will continue:

• Southeast for about 2 miles along Heritage Rail Trail*
• Along Center Street for half a mile in downtown Hilliard
• 2.5 miles in Columbus along Scioto Darby Creek Road to Roberts Substation

*For the safety of the public and our crews, portions of the Heritage Rail Trail will be temporarily closed while work is underway. We've been coordinating with Hilliard city officials and are committed to keeping you updated throughout the process. To minimize the impact of closures, we will work in phases over a six-week period.

Visit the project page for more detailed information, a map of planned work, closure dates and detours for each section of the trail.

West Columbus 138 kV High-Voltage Transmission Line Forestry Work
Timing: December 2024 - January 2025
Work Planned: Crews will begin inspecting trees along 20 miles of high-voltage transmission power lines beginning in December. To comply with the NERC requirements and to protect the national electric system, AEP removes all trees and woody-stemmed vegetation within the right-of-way of any transmission lines that are part of the national electric grid. Tree removal work is scheduled to be completed in January 2025.

Visit the project page for more detailed information and a map of planned work.

West Columbus Distribution Line Forestry Work
Timing: Ongoing
Work Planned: Crews are continuing their work to proactively trim and remove trees that could interfere with your electric service along our distribution lines and equipment as part of a four-year maintenance cycle. Planned work is highlighted on the map.

Learn more about our proactive forestry work around distribution lines and find answers to FAQs.

Keeping You Informed

If work is planned on your property, we'll reach out in advance. Our crews will also knock on your door to discuss our plan. If you're unavailable when we visit, we'll leave a door hanger with details and a number to call with any questions. Please be sure we have your best contact information.

All of our work plans are subject to change at any time due to factors including but not limited to weather or unforeseen circumstances.

Additional Distribution Improvement Work

Since 2021, we've invested nearly $51 million to improve electric service in the Hilliard area. In addition to our ongoing forestry work, crews have:

• Replaced or installed nearly 550 electric poles
• Added or replaced over 1,060 fuses
• Replaced or installed nearly 192,000 feet of overhead wire (36.4 miles)
• Replaced or installed nearly 324,000 feet of underground wire (61.3 miles)