What if you could tap into the collective brain of every electric co-op in the country? Right now, without a way to compare best practices, it’s hard to know if yours is ahead of the curve, behind it, or right where it needs to be.
Co-op vegetation managers know their own programs. They know their budgets, their trim cycles, their contractor relationships, their problem circuits. What many don’t have is a clear picture of how their program compares to their peers’. And without that context, it’s hard to make the case for investment, justify new tools, or know where to focus.
This year, Bloom Spatial and the Utility Arborist Association are partnering to publish the State of Co-op Vegetation Management Electric Cooperative Benchmark Survey, an annual survey and report that captures how electric cooperatives across the country are approaching vegetation management. Program maturity, technology adoption, herbicide programs, budgeting practices, staffing, and top challenges. All of it, broken down by co-op size and context.
The goal is to give co-op leaders a clear picture of where the industry stands, so they can see where their program fits and make better decisions.
We partnered with the UAA in this effort to serve co-ops and advance the profession. Their members include crews in the field, managers making budget calls, and GMs approving capital plans. The combined reach of Bloom Spatial and the UAA aims to make this a useful report for the industry.
The survey takes about seven minutes. It covers six topic areas and asks both structured and open-ended questions. All data will be anonymized for publishing (unless you want a quote or best practice shared with your name on it). Findings will be published in a printed report and will be distributed at UAA events. The summarized findings will also be available on both organizations’ websites.
If you manage vegetation for an electric cooperative, or you make decisions that touch it, we’d like to hear from you.
The more co-ops that participate, the more useful this becomes for everyone. That’s the cooperative spirit in action.
Take the survey HERE
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