Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 5, 1990 TAG: 9006050435
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH BRYANT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
To the best of my knowledge, C&P is still a regulated utility that falls within the auspices of the State Corporation Commission, and careful examination of private property titles will show easements granted utilities operating within those geographical confines. Such easements were established to provide near-universal disbursement of utility provisions to the American public. While the following comments will not restore damages done to the owner's trees, perhaps the actions can be placed in better perspective.
The majority of C&P employees are discouraged from performing any major pruning operations. The bulk of these are performed by contract services, which often fall short of the demands placed upon them. Although a contractor may have performed the offense, the utility owner will ultimately be saddled with fault - such are the rewards of name recognition.
Like most of my fellow employees, I am a private homeowner and have been personally discouraged by the actions taken by a power contractor that operated on APCo easements crossing my property. As a utility worker, I also understand the demands placed upon those workers and know my best recourse is to properly identify the perpetrator (all vehicles are generally well identified) and report infractions to that company.
Should this fail, the property owner needs to contact the company contracting the service. Written documentation is a must if one expects compensation.
I feel that I speak for most C&P employees when I say we try to provide service with a minimum of public disruption, although such an extensive network of lines provides an indomitable task that is unfortunately bound to encroach upon some. I ask for patience and offer assurance that C&P is proud of its corporate image and is not in the business of alienating its customers.
As to the suggestion that all utilities be placed underground for beautification, the policies of economics must prevail. Due to the rocky content of this area's soil along with established aerial lines, such placement is not always feasible. Also, the disruption of plant root systems associated with underground utility placement is often worse than poor pruning procedures.
I can only hope that our customers realize C&P's employees take pride in their work and have no preconceived intentions of "butchering" our customer's trees.
by CNB