GA Power, Peachtree Corners Meet to Review Power Reliability Plan

After months of persistence, city officials met with Georgia Power Company to become familiar with the latest plan and its progress toward improving power reliability in Peachtree Corners. Georgia Power reported that they had a "productive meeting" at one of the neighborhood work sites last week.

Hopefully, this will translate into the city providing residents with timely and informative updates on plans and progress by Georgia Power as they remove tree growth in areas where it threatens power lines.

In February, Georgia Power developed a plan to address the frequent power failures that had been plaguing the Peachtree Corners community for three years. The plan, presented at the February City Council meeting, included identifying and removing branches and trees that have been encroaching on power lines, potentially causing power outages.

Georgia Power launched its plan at the beginning of April. The city failed to advise residents in advance of the work that was to be done in neighborhoods and roadways. As a result, many residents were surprised as trees came down, legitimately but without warning.

Under the franchise agreement that the city has with Georgia Power and other utilities, Georgia Power pays the city for use of city property to run its power lines. In return, the power company may do what is deemed necessary, including removing branches and trees that threaten the power lines, to maintain the lines and protect them from damage. This agreement does not extend into private property. Georgia Power must obtain the property owners' permission to remove vegetation that is on their land.

After complaints and questions on social media regarding what was happening, the city was again approached about communicating Georgia Power’s plan with residents. That ultimately led to the meeting this week between Georgia Power and the city. No word as yet from the city about communicating with residents the details of the plan.

If you have any questions and/or see work being done in your neighborhood without prior notice, contact City Manager Brian Johnson at bjohnson@peachtreecornersga.gov.