FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(JOHNSON CITY, Texas) September 25, 2025 — Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s vegetation management experts say fall is the best time to plant trees in Texas because the moderate temperatures and often wetter weather allow tree root systems to establish before winter.
Here are some of their fall planting tips to help promote safety, reliability, and energy savings.
- Look up: Before choosing a spot to plant trees and shrubs, consider the mature size of each species and plant away from power lines to avoid contact between the two. Besides their aesthetic beauty, trees also provide shade to help cool your home and lower electric bills.
- Don’t plant around utility boxes: Pad-mounted transformers, the green or grey metal boxes on some properties, deliver power through underground distribution wires. Members who plant around PEC’s equipment make it more difficult, dangerous, and time consuming for lineworkers to restore power. Keep this area clear for a safer environment and easy access for faster power restoration.
- Dial 811 before you dig: To determine where underground electrical lines and utility equipment is located, call Texas811 before planting. Calling before you dig is required by law and can save your life.
- Call PEC to report vegetation on power lines: If trees or branches are growing on or near our equipment, please call us at 888-554-4732 during business hours. PEC will send a crew out to remove the encroaching vegetation safely and free of charge.
- Shade your HVAC and keep it clean: Plant for shade around units to keep them cool and running smoothly. Also, remember to keep units clear of debris and dead leaves to help prevent fires.
- Around your home: Plant trees on the south and west sides of your home to shade the hottest areas and save on electric bills.
PEC strives to provide its members with safe, reliable, and affordable electric service while enhancing and preserving the natural beauty of the Texas Hill Country. Learn more about safety and landscaping by visiting mypec.com/plants.
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