Reliability

When it comes to power outages, trees are without a doubt our biggest culprit. And while they make our province a beautiful place to live, they can interfere with power lines and cause outages. It’s why we have our vegetation management team—they control tree growth near power lines through tree trimming to prevent outages year-round. Last year, we invested about $20 million in planned and requested vegetation management, trimming trees along 756 km of power lines.

Because many municipalities value having roadside trees, we work with them to balance our right-of-way maintenance with their local priorities. In certain urban areas of Halifax, for example, the municipality conducts its own tree maintenance to ensure those local priorities are met. 

While it’s true that power outages can be less frequent with underground lines, when they do occur, they’re harder to locate and take longer to repair.

Underground lines are also much more expensive. The main reason we don’t typically bury power lines is because we’re regulated to provide the most cost-effective option for customers. Burying lines can be 10 times more expensive for customers than running lines overhead. Nova Scotia’s rocky terrain also makes it a challenge.

In cases where lines are buried, we usually work with developers or municipalities that finance the difference in cost, so customers aren’t impacted. For us to bury lines in Halifax only, for example, it would be more costly for customers throughout the province.

It’s also important to note that burying the lines could be inconvenient for residents. It would require digging up streets and sidewalks and would damage the root systems of trees.