Penn Power and West Penn Power, both FirstEnergy companies, recently conducted aerial inspections of nearly 1,000 miles of 345-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines in the greater Pittsburgh area in preparation for winter.
Inspections are conducted every four years using infrared and ultraviolet (IR/UV) technology mounted on the bottom of the helicopter. It takes photos that are used to identify overheated components or voltage issues, and to identify equipment issues such as loose connections, corrosion and load imbalances.
The companies are able to prevent power outages by detecting issues that can’t be found during regular visual inspections.
“Helicopters provide us with a view of our electrical equipment that we can’t get from the ground, allowing us to inspect miles of power lines in a single day,” Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania operations, said. “However, on-the-ground inspections are still necessary and underway to ensure our neighborhood power lines and equipment are ready to meet the high demand for electricity when customers crank up their heaters to stay comfortable this winter.”
Visual inspections are completed to find issues such as nesting birds on electrical equipment, overgrown trees, or broken pole hardware. This year, nearly 2,000 miles of 138-kV and 69-kV lines have been inspected with approximately 500 more miles planned by the end of the year.