Where Our Crews Are Trimming
Our contract crews are trimming the following townships:
- Porter County-Union and Porter townships and all areas served in Lake County
- Starke County-Portions of Center, Davis, Washington, and Oregon townships
Preventive Tree Trimming
The same trees that beautify your landscape and provide shade for your home can also:
- Be dangerous to your family
- Cause potential problems with your electric service
Safety & Reliability
To protect you and your family as well as provide the most reliable electric service, KV REMC trims trees that may interfere with power lines.
It also allows us to:
- Maintain reliable services
- Save money in:
- Power
- Restoration costs
- Line losses
Trimming keeps your family, your home and our workers safe.
Which Tress Get Trimmed?
- Trees and limbs within 10 feet of the power lines
- Trees with limbs growing through or around power lines
- Branches growing above lines where snow and ice can sag limbs into the lines
- Weak and leaning trees that pose a threat to the power lines
Planting Guidelines
You can help keep utility service reliable and homes safe by following KV REMC’s planting guidelines:
- Call before you dig
- Before planting a tree, consider the mature size of the tree
- Trees that will mature over 15 feet in height should be planted well outside the right of way corridor to avoid future contacts with the power lines
- Measure 15 feet from the power line and then half the distance of the width of the trees spread when fully grown. This is as close as you should plant to the power line
- When planting near power lines:
- Plant low growing shrubs
- Tall narrow trees at least 30 feet from the power lines
- Consider planting utility-friendly trees such as:
- Crape Myrtle
- Dogwood
- Eastern Redbud
- Japanese Maple
- Purpleleaf Plum
- Star Magnolia
- Yaupon
- Do not plant tall growers within 50 to 75 feet of power lines:
- Ash
- Beech
- Birch
- Black Gum
- Cedar
- Chestnut
- Chinaberry
- Elm
- Maple
- Oak
- Pecan
- Pine
- Poplar
- Southern Magnolia
If you have any questions regarding planting shrubs or trees, please feel free to contact our office.
Right-of-Way Spraying Maintenance
Brush upkeep and tree trimming is a vital part to keeping your power flowing efficiently and safely. KV REMC’s contracts with trained, certified vegetation control specialists to take care of summer foliage that may pose a risk to the functionality of your electricity.
- Kankakee Valley REMC schedules annual small woody plant chemical vegetation control
- The area of application will vary each year on a rotating basis
- This service is provided by The Daltons
Watch our summer newsletters for more specific information detailing the area for each year.
The Daltons
By the Indiana State Chemist, The Daltons are:
- Certified
- Fully Licensed
The Daltons avoid sensitive areas adjacent of the right-of-way such as:
- Front yards
- Tree plantations
- Ornamental planting
- Crops
- Gardens
- Lakes
- Streams
Information on the 2023 spray operation will be available in early summer. Watch for more details in the Indiana Connection magazine.
Adjacent Right-of-Way Maintenance
If you would prefer to maintain the right-of-way adjacent to your land in some other fashion, such as mowing, please follow these instructions:
- Call the REMC, (800) 552-2622 or The Daltons, (574) 267-7511
- When your area is identified in the REMC newsletter as the area to be maintained, post a sign on the right-of-way at each end of the your property that reads “No Spraying” – Make sure it’s legible and visible from the roadway
- Make sure all the brush is removed within that area by the deadline provided to you from the co-op, and continue to maintain it – If the brush is not removed, then we must treat the brush as part of our vegetation management program
- We need and truly appreciate your cooperation each year to maintain a good right-of-way program
Please contact us with any planting guideline questions.