Hey, Consumers Energy! Who is responsible for cleaning up tree trimming debris?

Hey, Consumers Energy, who’s responsible for cleaning up the mess after our tree limbs were trimmed?

The short answer? It depends. But that’s not super helpful, so stay with us as we break down a few different scenarios.

Was the tree trimming a result of planned maintenance work?

If we were in your area doing maintenance tree trimming, we’ll handle the clean-up, depending on the location of the trees, here’s what you can expect:

Lawn areas: The wood will be left for your use. Brush will be chipped and removed from landscaped areas.

Wooded areas: Brush is either piled (which creates good habitat for wildlife and suppresses future tree growth) or mulched and scattered within the easement right-of-way (a portion of your land that may be considered public). Any wood will be left for your use.

If trees are cut down: Stumps are cut as close to the ground as possible and treated with herbicide to prevent regrowth.

In situations outside of our planned maintenance work, the homeowner is responsible for tree clean up. This includes:

After emergency service restoration

After weather-related restoration

After tree maintenance you requested

Now that we know who is responsible for what, let’s talk about the tree trimming process and another question we get a lot.

Hey, Consumers Energy! My tree has been marked for weeks but we haven’t heard a thing since. What’s going on?

The tree trimming process starts when a forestry planner marks trees or brush in need of maintenance. This can be done well in advance of the actual trimming. You may notice a few different symbols depending on what is needed.

Trees needing to be trimmed are marked with a blue dot.
Those that need to be cut down are marked with a blue X. If the trees are located outside the easement they will be marked with a blue A.
Brush that needs to be cleared may be marked with a blue slash ( / )

You may receive two to three communications before the tree trimming takes place.

You may receive a postcard when our Forestry team member will be inspecting lines for tree work on our maintenance program to inform you they will be marking trees and brush.
You may receive a communication about tree work planned on your property with a Forestry Team member’s contact information to discuss the work.
You’ll receive a letter no more than 90 days before tree crews start work with the contractor’s name performing the work and contact information for our Forestry Team to communicate any concerns.

Learn more about our efforts at ConsumersEnergy.com/forestry.

Reliability Roadmap and Tree Trimming

Three years ago, we started a more aggressive effort to trim trees. Today, we identify electrical circuits where trees and vegetation most often lead to power outages and prioritize them.

This year, we’ll clear and remove trees along over 7,000 miles of power lines, part of a stepped-up commitment to protect electrical equipment from Mother Nature and reduce outages through our Reliability Roadmap.

Line clearing is one of several tactics we employ as we carry out the Reliability Roadmap. Our long-term blueprint aims to combat more severe weather with upgrades in equipment, strategy and technology – all with the goal of reducing the number of power outages and restoring power to all customers in 24 hours or less, no matter the situation.