Given that 80% of the electrical distribution network is aerial, one of the main causes of interruption of the electrical supply is related to the vegetation that grows in the vicinity of the power lines. This, added to the climatic conditions of recent years, which combine increasingly extreme temperatures, intense winds, storms and vegetation partly deteriorated by a previous extensive drought, cause large trees, hooks or branches to fall on the nets, in addition to the contact with the networks caused by the wind when moving the vegetation, which causes considerable damage to the infrastructure.
In this context, year after year, Enel Distribución executes a grove management plan that aims to face this type of contingencies. In coordination with the 33 municipalities in its concession area, for this year the company planned to clear more than 1,300 kilometers of medium voltage networks, estimating almost 40 thousand pruning points. However, facing winter, it decided to double its efforts, adding more specialized crews to inspect an additional 3,200 kilometers, totaling more than 4,500 kilometers during this season.
“Our preventive pruning plan is essential to reduce possible supply outages, especially in the winter months. However, this year we have made an additional effort to clear more streets and avenues within the capital, pruning nearly 60,000 additional trees,” explains Víctor Balbontín, operations manager of Enel Distribución.
According to current regulations, distribution companies must maintain the electrical infrastructure in good condition, which includes pruning trees near the wiring, in order to achieve a safe distance between the power lines and the vegetation. The municipalities, for their part, also have their own clearing programs, particularly of trees that, due to their height and size, can seriously damage the electrical networks due to their eventual fall in projection on them.
To carry out the pruning plan, the condition of the trees close to the electrical network is evaluated and then the work to be carried out is defined. These are carried out throughout the year, in stages and in cycles, using appropriate techniques that protect the health of the species, identifying a priori their condition, type of crown and form of growth. In this sense, the correct intervention of the branches implies cutting them from the base, avoiding leaving stumps with sprouts that could be projected into the power lines.
Enel Distribución crews are trained to work implementing all the safety measures that the use of chainsaws requires, using appropriate equipment and accessories such as anti-cut clothing and facial protectors that prevent accidents.
