CenterPoint Energy Easement Clearing
Starting
March 12th and continuing through
March19th, CenterPoint Energy will
be conducting site clearing
operations from their transmission
line easement on the UH Main Campus.
The easement runs along Wheeler
Street, from Calhoun Road to Law
Residence Hall.
In the past, trees located with
transmission line easements were
pruned to keep limbs safely away
from power lines. However, in 2003 a
massive blackout in the Northeast
was found to have been caused by the
failure of an electrical provider to
properly trim trees around their
transmission lines. The blackout
affected approximately 55 million
customers in the Northeast and
Midwest United States and Ontario,
Canada. Due to this event, utility
companies across the United States
re-evaluated their policies for
allowable plant material in
transmission line easements.
Approximately 80 trees will be
cleared during these operations. The
trees recently planted from
Hurricane Ike Landscape Improvements
will not be impacted. Some of the
newly planted trees that were part
of the Cougar Village housing
project will be relocated around
campus. CenterPoint Energy will
donate $10,000 to the University as
a goodwill payment through their
Transmission Operation�s Tree
Replacement Program which promotes
the company�s �Right Tree in the
Right Place� program. The University
will apply the donated funds to
purchase new trees to be planted
throughout campus.
For more information regarding this
project, please contact Roger
Warner, Landscape Project and
Planning Manager, at 713-743-9671 or
via email
rwwarner@central.uh.edu.
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