Annual spending on vegetation management has sat above $5million since 2018, but is forecast to drop below $4million in 2024 through to 2026.
The company highlighted in its application to the Commerce Commission about pricing that it was moving to a different strategy for vegetation management.
Aurora had taken a largely reactive approach, but would shift to a five-year cyclical model.
The lines company, owned by the Dunedin City Council, is due to spend about $21.2million on vegetation management over five years.
The commission was not initially convinced all of the proposed spending was necessary, but later accepted the company’s assessment.
Outages because of vegetation have been at their lowest level since 2013.
However, Aurora asset management and planning general manager Glenn Coates said the company remained concerned about all vegetation close to its Dunedin and Central Otago networks.
The networks have about 50 outages a year caused by vegetation.
Mr Coates said other outages were likely caused by vegetation touching power lines, possibly during high winds, but a specific cause was not always found.
"We recommend that homeowners take the initiative to survey their property and identify any trees that are growing near power lines," Mr Coates said.
"By identifying potential hazards early, then it is much more likely that maintenance can be performed safely, with minimal expense."
In some cases, a property owner can declare they have "no interest" in keeping a tree and Aurora will remove it free of charge.
