“We strongly disagree with the characterization of Nipsco’s vegetation management practices,” the company said. “Nipsco’s vegetation management spend has more than doubled since 2016, demonstrating our commitment and focus on maintaining a safe and reliable electric system”.

And yet here we are, Nipsco. Maybe they doubled the spend to $8.

I used to live in a remote part of Australia and the longest we went was 8 days because we were cut of fby flooding, apart from helicopter. Repairs were under way fast when the water receeded. But apart from that, there's huge investment in maintenance and repair because of laws enforcing it. Companies will get fined big time if they slip below the government's requirements to operate as a utility provider.