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New York Power Authority becomes nation's third accredited right-of-way steward utility founder

by jmaloni

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Thu, Oct 30th 2014 07:40 pm

NYPA joins utilities in Vermont and Arizona in leading the way toward responsible ROW vegetation management

The Right-of-Way Stewardship Council announced the New York Power Authority has become the third accredited "Right-of-Way Steward" utility founder for sustainable integrated vegetation management of its respective electric transmission right-of-way system. With the accreditation, NYPA was recognized with the "Right-of-Way Steward Founder's Award" for leadership in the field on Oct. 16 at the Utility Arborist Association's New York Regional meeting in Auburn.

NYPA joins Arizona Public Service and Vermont Electric Power Company Inc. as officially accredited "Right-of-Way Stewards."

The ROWSC program provides standards of excellence for environmental stewardship and presents the opportunity for utility companies to demonstrate their commitment to such standards. While initially focused on the North American high-voltage power grid, the program will be easily adaptable to other ROW users, the council said.

The ROWSC model follows the lead of Electric Power Research Institute's standards for assessing performance of integrated vegetation management on rights-of-way and is informed by other well-established accreditation programs found in the forest industry (such as the Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative). The ROWSC establishes rigorous management standards based on a set of predetermined principles, requires a formal application process, and enlists third-party auditors to ensure compliance with standards. The ROWSC accreditation standards for assessing integrated vegetation management excellence establish the technical requirements for applicants seeking steward accreditation. The standards are applied in an independent audit of an applicant's integrated vegetation management program to aid in identifying excellence.

NYPA is the country's largest state public power organization. It operates 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit miles of transmission lines. In order to ensure the safety and reliability of the transmission system, NYPA maintains the vegetation growing on or near 16,000 acres of transmission ROW.

In addition to its ROWSC work, NYPA has incorporated sustainability into its core business operations and is using leading best practices to manage and measure performance. Learn more about NYPA's integrated vegetation management program here.

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