Greensboro residents are upset with Duke Energy again over its tree trimming practices in the city, this time because of pruning around major transmission lines. Concerned locals are taking to Facebook and asking local leaders to do more.
At the end of 2012, Duke’s subcontractors cut down dozens of trees in residential neighborhoods sparking outrage. Many home owners were upset over what they called aggressive cutting, as well as a lack of communication by the company. The City Council created a subcommittee to draft a tree ordinance and Duke stopped residential trimming for the time being. Council members initially said an ordinance would be ready by February, but that has now been pushed back until at least May.
“I will assure people that we have been working on this very hard, the City Council Subcommittee on trees has been working very hard. Nobody is dragging their feet. We don’t want to see the devastation that we’ve seen over the last week and a half,” said Council member Nancy Vaughn.
What began a couple of weeks ago was cutting around major transmission lines along major thoroughfares in Greensboro. Vaughn calls that move by Duke “tone deaf” after the response from residents. Trimming and cutting in those areas falls under federal regulation and wouldn’t be affected by an ordinance. Duke maintains that is cuts only when necessary. The company says it primary areas of focus are safety and providing reliable power. Duke says the most recent cutting was required to protect transmission lines that provide power to the city of High Point.