O&R Wins National Tree-Care Honors for 7th Year

PEARL RIVER, NY January 28, 2008 — For the seventh year in a row, The National Arbor Day Foundation has named Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. a "Tree Line USA Utility" in recognition of O&R's national leadership in caring for trees while meeting service objectives.

O&R manages vegetation along 3,800 miles of primary electric distribution and 475 miles of electric transmission in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Included in the program is vegetation control for its gas transmission lines, electric substations and facilities.

O&R makes a concerted effort to meet Tree Line USA requirements by training its workers in quality tree-care practices and by helping its customers to plant appropriate trees near utility lines. That approach not only helps to provide beautiful trees for the future, but also long-term operational savings for the Company.

O&R's Vice President – Operations, James Tarpey, said, "Over the past several years, O&R has put in place a high quality vegetation management program supporting our initiatives to improve the delivery of safe and reliable energy to our customers."

O&R's four-year tree-trimming cycle prunes an estimated 225,000 trees per year along about 1,200 miles of right-of-way and is credited with a significant decrease in tree-related electric power outages since 1991. Tree contact is the primary cause of electric service interruptions in O&R's heavily wooded service territory.

Mark Beamish, O&R's certified arborist who plays a substantial role in the development and management of the vegetation program, said, "Tree pruning is an integral part of keeping outages to a minimum and making storm restoration more efficient by managing the growth and maintenance of a healthier, more storm-resistant tree stock."

O&R recently announced that in 2007 its customers experienced the most reliable electric service in the utility's 108-year history. O&R attributed that success to its pro-active tree-trimming plan, as well as a strong infrastructure upgrade and replacement program and the implementation of new technologies to help better manage the electric system.