We Energies clearing trees near power lines throughout Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) - We Energies crews were in Milwaukee on Tuesday, trimming and clearing trees near power lines to avoid outages during severe weather.

We Energies received $45 million from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission in 2024 and is using the money to clear a 3,000-mile stretch of power lines in Wisconsin this year.

“Our goal is to reduce the amount of trees that could fall into our lines and create an outage for our customers," We Energies Field and Systems Operations Vice President Dave Megna said.

Crews will work over the course of the next several years, looking to trim or remove thousands of trees across a 15,000-mile stretch.

“We’re cutting them down or topping them, so if they do fall, they are not impacting any of our customers," Megna said.

The trees that will be taken down are dead or dying trees that have been infected with emerald ash borer beetles.

"It (emerald ash borer) didn't become a very relevant issue in Wisconsin until 2011 or 2012," Lake Forest Tree Service owner and arborist Peter Raczynski said.

Raczynski says the emerald ash borer infections spiked around three to four years ago and are still a problem throughout Wisconsin today.

“The trees will start dying from the tips and they’ll be defoliating, and eventually you’ll see holes in the bark and the bark will fall off after a couple years," Raczynski said.

Raczynski says taking down or trimming trees near power lines is a good idea and is needed to help with potential power outages.

“It’s absolutely necessary in order to keep the power on," Raczynski said.