CL&P Downplays Talk of Tree-Trimming Charge

A spokesman for Connecticut Light & Power has downplayed a utility executive's comment that it's considering charging property owners who refuse tree trimming if an outage is found to have been caused by falling limbs.

The New Haven Register reports that Kenneth Bowes, vice president for energy delivery service, told the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Tuesday that the utility plans to hold customers responsible for what he called "tree-trimming refusals."

Spokesman Mitch Gross said later that the Northeast Utilities subsidiary discussed the issue internally and is "nothing more."

At a public hearing later, Shirley McCarthy, chairwoman of Branford's Tree Commission, called CL&P's tree-trimming practices barbaric.

Susan Bradford, a Bethany resident, said the utility's trimming crews were overzealous and mutilated 13 spruce trees on her property last June.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority will hold a meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Hamden Middle School to discuss an investigation into tree-trimming practices.