PECO Earns Tree Line USA 2025 Certification for Environmental Stewardship

PECO’s industry best practices have been recognized for excellence in tree care, workforce expertise, community education, and conservation.

Vegetation causes about 40 percent of power outages that affect PECO customers. When branches or trees impact electric infrastructure, sustained power outages are more likely. That’s why we continue to significantly invest in vegetation management to keep trees and other vegetation a safe distance away from powerlines to avoid potential issues.

This ongoing work and adherence to industry best practices has earned PECO the Tree Line USA 2025 Certification from the Arbor Day Foundation, which recognizes excellence in tree care, workforce expertise, community education, and conservation.

At the Tree Line USA conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, PECO’s Vegetation Management team received this certification, reaffirming our commitment to a greener future and our Path to Clean initiative. PECO has earned this recognition annually since 2019.

Each year, PECO invests millions in vegetation management across 14,000 miles of electric lines, ensuring compliance with federal reliability standards. But reliability is just one benefit. PECO practices Integrated Vegetation Management on transmission corridors, which promotes ecological health through forest management, infrastructure maintenance, and wildlife habitat preservation.

Since 2004, PECO has awarded over 400 Green Region grants totaling $3 million to support open space, conservation, and environmental education across southeastern Pennsylvania. In addition, last year we partnered with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to help plant 5,797 trees and support “Tree Tenders,” a respected volunteer program that has trained over 6,000 community members since 1993.

“PECO’s long-standing support has been essential to the success of our tree programs across the region. Their partnership helps us get more trees in the ground, engage more volunteers, and build greener, healthier communities,” said Dan Preziosi, Director of Trees at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

PECO’s ReLeaf Program also expands the region’s tree canopy by supporting the planting of one tree for every one removed during maintenance. Over the past five years, more than 50,000 trees have been planted through ReLeaf.

This certification highlights PECO’s environmental leadership, balances reliability and sustainability, and helps shape a cleaner energy future for our region.