• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

843-672-6111

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Lynches River Electric Cooperative - Home

Lynches River Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Founded in 1939, LREC is a not-for-profit member-owned electric cooperative organized to provide electricity to citizens in rural areas where electric energy was not currently available.

Skip NavigationMenu
  • Apps
  • My Account
    • Close
    • Update Your Info
    • Close
  • Outage Map
    • Close
    • Report an Outage
    • Close
  • Contact
    • Close
    • Contact Form
    • Request Light Repair
    • Report LREC Energy Theft
    • Close
  • Search
  • Sitemap
Skip NavigationMenu
  • RiverNet Connect High-Speed Internet
  • Your Service
    • Close
    • Login
    • Scam Alert
    • View & Pay Bill
      • Your Bill
      • Understanding Your Bill
      • Ways to Pay
      • CheckOut by Pay-Go
      • Payment Sites
      • Bank Draft
      • Pre-Pay
      • E-Billing
      • Online Bill Pay
      • Levelized Billing
    • Member Services
      • Update Your Info
      • Electric Service
      • Disconnect Service
      • Request Light Repair
      • Your Phone Number
      • Medical Priority
      • Gift of Power
    • Mobile Apps
    • Forms and Applications
    • Close
  • Our Community
    • Close
    • Operation Round Up
    • Education
      • Bright Ideas
    • Co-op Connections
    • WIRE
    • Close
  • Economic Development
    • Close
    • Available Economic Sites
    • Industrial Park
    • Close
  • Safety
    • Close
    • Storm Center
      • Outage Preparation
      • Power Restoration Guide
      • Hurricane Safety
      • After the Storm
      • Generator Safety
      • Emergency Kit
      • Lightning Safety
      • Tornado Safety
      • Winter Storm Safety
      • NOAA Weather Radio
    • Call 811 Before Digging
    • Power Lines
    • Right-of-Way Maintenance
    • Home Safety
      • Power Lines
      • Space Heater Safety
      • Generator Safety
      • Carbon Monoxide
    • Safety Tips for Kids
    • Close
  • Energy Solutions
    • Close
    • Electric Vehicles
    • H2O Select
    • Beat the Peak
    • Green Power
    • Together We Save
    • EnergyWorks Home Tour
    • Energy Calculators
    • Rebates & Incentives
    • Close
  • About Us
    • Close
    • Co-op Principles
    • Service Area
    • Board of Trustees
    • Capital Credits
      • Unclaimed Refunds
    • History
    • Bylaws
    • Mission & Values
    • Employment
    • Close
  • News
    • Close
    • News Archive
    • Scam Alert
    • South Carolina Living
    • Media Inquires
    • Close

Above and beyond

March 7, 2023

Large aerial saws are flown by helicopter to trim trees in remote locations when they overgrow power lines.
Air-to-ground trimming by helicopter is now being used to maintain Lynches River Electric’s rights-of-way. An experienced and skillful pilot maneuvers the 10 spinning blades between power lines and limbs. Photo credit: Joshua P. Crotzer

New ROW program uses helicopters to trim tough terrain

It’s an attention-grabbing sight. A low-flying helicopter surfs the tree line, a column of sawblades hanging below it, spinning so fast that they kick up dust and debris. The blades then zip through thick pine limbs like a hot knife to butter.

The helicopter and its impressive sawblades belong to Southeastern Limb & Tree, a company that is now helping to keep the power on for Lynches River Electric members. Southeastern’s helicopters are being used to trim limbs that have grown too close to or are hanging over Lynches River Electric power lines in the cooperative’s rights-of-way. Right-of-way (ROW) is the area around the cooperative’s poles, lines, and equipment where tree limbs and other vegetation can compromise reliability if not maintained properly.

“It’s a great tool for Lynches River Electric’s system,” says Chris DuBose, a former lineman who is now CEO and president of Southeastern Limb and Tree. The South Carolina- based company also provides vegetation management services for other South Carolina cooperatives and utilities throughout the Southeast. “You’re in the foothills with some rugged terrain and you’ve got the areas by the lake that are difficult to trim.”

By coming from above, and guided by the skillful maneuvering of the pilot, the ten blades can reach limbs near power lines that other equipment can’t. The helicopters have trimmed areas by Lake Wateree, cutting limbs that had never been cut before, according to Lynches River Electric ROW Coordinator Don Gulledge.

“You can cut any terrain with that helicopter,” says Gulledge. “It’s true ground to sky coverage in areas where a bucket truck or a sky trim (equipment that trims using a single blade and long arm) just can’t get to.”

When freezing temperatures and high winds hit the same area, that clean right-of-way is credited for keeping outages to a minimum.

“The Brock Mill substation and the Catawba substation were probably our two worst in terms of outages because of the terrain,” says Gulledge. “There were a lot of areas we just couldn’t get to before. Since they’ve been cut, we’ve had nowhere near the number of outages there.”

Bobcat compact tractor clearing tree limbs with crew members looking on.
When trimming is planned for an area, members are notified with a door hanger and on the Lynches River Facebook page. Within two weeks of the aerial trimming, Southeastern crews clean the debris left behind.

Gulledge also says that the aerial program can complete certain territories five times as fast as traditional methods and doesn’t cost the cooperative more. That means savings for members, too.

While other South Carolina electric cooperatives have used Southeastern in portions of their territories, Lynches River Electric is the first cooperative in the state to maintain their entire system through an aerial ROW program. Their crews will clear nearly 400 miles of ROW this year, over half using the helicopter. They recently completed the Wolf Pond substation and have begun working in the areas served by the Jefferson substation.

Dubose says the helicopters attract attention but cautions people from getting too close.

“We know that people like to stop and watch and sometimes take videos or pictures,” says Dubose. “But that’s when accidents can happen. We encourage people to maintain a safe distance or stay inside if the helicopter is flying near them.

“The reason we’re doing this work is to keep their lights on and right-of-way is the most important factor when it comes to the number of outages,” he continues. “We’re going to go above and beyond to supply reliable power to our members.”

Category iconNewsroom

Recent News

  • Announcing our new logo and look
  • Be mindful of peak demand, save money
  • Above and beyond

We need your phone number

When you call to report an outage, the automated outage reporting system identifies the location of the outage by your home phone number. For the outage reporting system to work efficiently, we need your phone number.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Footer

Lynches River Electric

707 South Arant Street
Pageland, SC 29728
Get Directions
(843) 672-6111
info@lynchesriver.com
Mo,Tu,We,Th 8:00 am – 5:00 pm; Fr 8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Apple App Store LogoGoogle Play App Store Logo

Member Services

Billing & Payments
Your Account
Update Your Info
New Service
Stop/Transfer Service
Community
Contact Us

Outages & Storms

Report an Outage
Storm Center
Outage Preparation
Power Restoration

Safety

Call 811 Before Digging
Electrical Safety
Emergency Kit

Saving Energy & Money

Energy Tips
Energy Solutions
Green Power
EnergyWorks Home Tour

Translate

Copyright © 2023 Lynches River Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Site by Cooperative Inc.
Contact | Privacy Policy | Accessibility | Bylaws | Sitemap
Employee Email