contractor to begin treating portions of right-of-way in mid-July

Maintaining the right-of-way — the land below, above and on either side of power lines and equipment — is essential for North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) to provide reliable, safe electricity to our members.

Employees and contractors need access to inspect and make any necessary repairs at all times. Our trucks and equipment can’t access overgrown areas easily or quickly. This can lead to delay in restoring service during an outage or planned maintenance.

NAEC again has contracted with Progressive Solutions to treat portions of the co-op's right-of-way with herbicide. Using herbicides on unmaintained areas is an effective method of controlling brush for a longer time period than bush-hogging.

Treatment will begin around the middle of July and should be completed within three weeks. It will be conducted on unmaintained areas — not lawns or gardens — by uniformed employees often using backpack sprayers. Although the herbicides are labeled to spray up to the water's edge, Progressive Solutions employees give a 50-foot buffer to these areas.

Members in the scheduled areas will receive a postcard at the mailing address NAEC has on file prior to work beginning. An email also will be sent to those with an address on file.

Scheduled areas in the Mountain Home district include: Clarkridge, Denton Ferry, Edgewood Bay, Gassville, Highway 5 area (north and south of bypass), Howard Creek, Lakeview, Midway, Promise Land, Three Brothers, Whiteville and Wildcat Shoals.

Scheduled areas in the Salem district include: Agnos, east of Salem, Fairview, Glencoe, Heart and Morriston.

Scheduled areas in the Ash Flat district include: Armstrong, Bakers Cemetery, east of Ash Flat, Fire Tower Road, Franklin, Game Reserve, Horseshoe Bend, Liberty Hill, Turkey Pen and Wirth.

Maintaining the right-of-way through vegetation trimming and removal is not only NAEC’s responsibility, but it also is required by the Arkansas Public Service Commission and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to maintain reliability and safety.

Members with any questions, please call General Foreman Paul Garrison at 870895-6289 or Operations Vice President James Woody at 870-895-3221. Questions also may be emailed to info@naeci.com. We appreciate your cooperation in our efforts to provide quality service.