Mid-May storms left some members in the Waconia area without power, and if you were among them, you witnessed MVEC’s leading cause of outages up close: trees. During storms and high winds, branches and entire trees can come into contact with power lines, causing outages and damage to electrical equipment.
MVEC follows a proactive five-year Right-of-Way (ROW) tree maintenance plan. Each year, MVEC crews and tree-trimming contractors rotate work around several of the cooperative’s 30 substations, clearing trees, shrubs, and other vegetation that could interfere with overhead power lines.
By maintaining clear rights-of-way, MVEC can improve system reliability and respond more safely and efficiently when outages occur. It’s another way we work year-round to deliver reliable power to members.
In 2026, tree-trimming will occur in the Augusta, Burn Scott, Jessenland, Sand Creek, Spring Lake and Waconia substation areas and nearby communities. This work helps prevent outages, reduce storm damage, and improve safety for the public and line crews.
