This Arbor Day Join ComEd in Planting the Right Tree in the Right Place

CHICAGO, April 21 /PRNewswire/ — In support of National Arbor Day on Friday, April 24, ComEd is offering homeowners, community groups and businesses helpful tips for planting the right tree in the right place.

This year ComEd plans to spend more than $55 million on trees and tree maintenance across northern Illinois to support the environment and minimize tree-related outages. In 2008, ComEd employees participated in nearly 20 tree-planting activities and to commemorate Arbor Day this year, scores of ComEd employees will get their hands dirty while beautifying Chicago as they plant trees in Washington Park on April 22.

“We understand the value trees provide to the communities we serve,” said Charles Sheppard, manager, Vegetation Management. “By helping our customers carefully select trees that are compatible with power lines we can help ensure reliable electric service while adding beauty to their yards and neighborhoods.”

Customers can help enhance public safety and reduce the potential for electrical outages by planting the right tree in the right place. ComEd urges tree planters to place new trees away from power lines. Flowering trees that grow to heights less than 20 feet, for example dogwoods or crabapples, are recommended for planting near the street. Trees that grow more than 30 feet tall should never be planted near power lines. At full height, these trees could contact lines and cause a power outage or create a safety concern.

Planting the right tree in the right place can be energy efficient. Evergreens planted along a property’s northern side serve as a “windbreaker,” making it easier to heat the property during harsh winter months. Large trees that shed their leaves in the autumn – such as the maple or oak – should be planted on the south and west side of a building to allow for winter sunshine and summer shade. Thick shrubbery can be planted around air conditioners to provide shade from the hot summer sun, as long as the shrubbery does not impede operation of the air conditioner. Silver Maple and Siberian Elm trees are not compatible with power lines and should never be planted under or close to power lines.

ComEd’s award-winning vegetation management program trims approximately 775,000 trees every year and during the last five years, ComEd provided more than $200,000 in matching grants to municipalities under its cooperative tree beatification program.

ComEd’s tree maintenance approach and philosophy is recognized nationally for balancing public safety and reliability with protecting and preserving trees. Earlier this year, ComEd earned the distinction of Tree Line USA Utility for the 10th year in a row. The award, sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters, recognizes utilities that meet strict requirements related to quality tree care, annual employee training in tree care practices as well as tree planting and public education.

Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities with approximately 5.4 million customers. ComEd provides service to approximately 3.8 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population.

SOURCE ComEd