Central Maine Power said it plans to trim thousands of miles of trees this year to try to make the state’s energy grid more reliable.
The utility said Wednesday the $27 million trimming program will target 4,600 miles in 2022. Maine is the most heavily forested state in the country, and falling trees and limbs are the leading cause of power outages.
The power company said it uses five-year cycles of tree work to reduce outages. That makes certain that about a fifth of the system is trimmed every year, it said.
CMP President and CEO Joe Purington said arborists will work with contractors, towns and landowners to get the work done.