Vine Maintenance

Vegetation is one of the most common causes for accidental disruptions to electrical service. Trees may be the most frequent cause, but the most covert and elusive of plants are the vines. Vines crawl along the ground, or snake through the canopy of a tree to steal and capture available light and space.

Vine Growth on Electrical Structures

Vines grow rapidly and use other objects for support. Trees, shrubs, utility poles, guy wires, and other upright structures provide the backbone for climbing vines.

The growth rates of vines can be variable and unpredictable. To complicate matters, the conductive tissue of a vine’s vascular system can transfer electrical current – and be the primary cause for an outage, service interruptions, or serious injury.

Reducing Outages Caused by Vines

As your service provider, JEA’s vegetation management plan includes a methodical vine eradication program that includes a strike team that seeks out, and responds to, potential vine related hazards before they actually occur. Vine data is collected regarding the treatment, date, location/address, and circuit. Field inspections and treatment not only alleviate the vines themselves, but may also remove the vegetative bridge that can close the gap between trees, shrubs, utility poles, guy wires, and other electrical equipment.

Since its inception, the success of the program has been significant. Vine related outages have continued to drop systematically year after year. If you have any questions or concerns regarding electrical hazards with trees and vines, please contact JEA Tree Care at (904) 665-6050, or email us at JEATreeCare@jea.com.