Trees and other brush are the leading cause of power outages for I&M customers. That’s why we have a Forestry Department to locate and manage threatening trees and vegetation before they cause a problem.

Chad Tinkel, I&M’s Forestry supervisor, leads our comprehensive program, often referred to as “Vegetation Management.” The goal is simple -- control trees and brush growing near power lines. Our efforts have reduced tree-related outages by 29% since 2021 and reduced the amount of time customers were without power from tree-related outages by 44% over the past five years.

“People love trees. They have numerous environmental benefits, and they are gorgeous,” Tinkel said. “Our goal is to leave as many trees as we can while addressing concerns from the community and meeting our responsibility to provide safe, reliable power to our customers.”

Under the Vegetation Management program, at least every four years in Indiana and every five years in Michigan, our forestry experts are in your neighborhoods. We assess trees around our power lines and equipment. Employees inspect easy-to-access areas by walking and using drones or helicopters for the hard-to-reach locations.

This year, I&M has a target of inspecting, trimming and removing potential tree-related issues along approximately 3,000 miles of power lines. In 2023, our tree experts did just that along 2,079 miles of power lines in Indiana and Michigan. That’s almost the distance from Fort Wayne to Los Angeles.

“Proactively inspecting and trimming trees or other brush can help reduce power outages – especially amid severe weather,” Tinkel explained. “We trim with the goal to further the tree’s health, but also to encourage the tree to grow back with fewer limbs and away from power lines or equipment.”

Foresters’ knowledge and experience help predict how trees will grow and which ones are likely to cause issues to plan our four-year cycle in Indiana and the five-year cycle in Michigan. We use data to address neighborhoods or areas where tree-related outages are likely to occur.

“We constantly work to increase our reliability to reduce the number and the length of outages, and that’s not going to stop,” Tinkel said. “At the end of the day, we want to deliver safe, reliable power so when you flip on your lights or charge your phone it’s going to come on.”

To learn more about our forestry efforts, including what to know before you plant, frequently asked questions and how to report a tree issue, visit www.IndianaMichiganPower.com/forestry.