Have you noticed a small red tag stapled to any trees on your property recently?

The tags are part of National Grid’s Enhanced Hazard Tree Mitigation program, which identifies and removes dying or weakened trees that could pose a potential hazard to power lines. 

A spokesperson for National Grid said the Davey Resource Group is partnering with National Grid and has already started marking trees with red tape — the identified trees pose issues of some sort, and Davey officials will speak to homeowners about those trees. Some of the trees will be removed while others might be trimmed back.

“Once the approvals have been granted by the tree owners, Stanley Tree will be trimming and removing trees near the electric wires,” stated a press release from National Grid.

“The work is expected to take place between September and late October.”

According to the press release, National Grid representatives met with Barrington officials to outline the scope of the work, and the process for informing neighborhoods impacted. 

The Enhanced Hazard Tree Mitigation program is an important part of ensuring continued electrical service to customers across the region, said National Grid. 

“About 20 percent of outages are caused by vegetation interference,” said Chris Rooney, National Grid’s lead supervisor for vegetation management. “We look forward to working with the residents in Barrington, to let them know that our tree maintenance programs have helped us reduce tree-related power outages. Ultimately we want to ensure safety and electric service reliability.” 

National Grid’s Enhanced Hazard Tree Mitigation program was established in 2008. For more information on the program, call National Grid’s Forestry Department at 401-642-2246.