HV power companies' tree trimming comes under scrutiny

Homeowners expressed concern and anger during two public hearings yesterday on electric companies' tree trimming.
Power companies have recently maintained stricter tree-trimming guidelines after an investigation revealed that the Northeast blackout of 2003 was caused by a tree falling onto a power line.
However, many local residents say the tree chopping has been taken too far. According to Hartsdale resident Amy Kupferberg, the price of her house was lowered 30 percent after Con Edison took down more than 450 trees in her yard.
Con Edison says the trimming is necessary in order to ensure public safety and prevent outages during storms.
The Public Service Commission is now investigating how electric companies across the state manage their tree trimming.