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For most residents, London Hydro’s work is easy to miss – wires strung above sidewalks or transformers humming quietly on lawns.

Keeping the system resilient takes more than new hardware, said Allan Van Damme, vice-president of engineering and construction. London Hydro spends more than $1 million a year on tree trimming, with five arborists working daily to prevent outages.

“High winds, trees falling, branches touching our wires, that’s what creates some outages, and you can’t have anybody trimming around high voltage. It’s very dangerous work,” Van Damme said.

Arborists are trained not only in electrical safety but in how different species grow and how to cut them without shutting down power. “It’s a full-time job for many people to try to keep them the way they’re

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