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Powercor has used a drone to fly a new powerline into place high above treetops in a remote part of Victoria during a recent emergency powerline repair, helping safely restore power faster.
Earlier this month, Powercor crews attempted to repair a damaged powerline near Deans Marsh, 20km from Lorne, at least 10m and as high as 50m above heavily vegetated and hilly terrain.
Crews’ efforts to use the damaged powerline to pull a new line in place were unsuccessful when the old line snapped.
Work planners began investigating helicopter or third-party drone options to restring the line, but a timely call to Powercor’s drone inspection team provided a solution.
The team, typically tasked with photographing poles and assets, quickly responded, adapting a drone for the activity. To do this, they attached a device that allows the drone to grab and detach objects as needed.
A pilot flew the drone pulling a 4mm guide rope connected to a new powerline about 300m over the trees to lineworkers at a power pole at the bottom of a valley. Crews were then able to install the new line and restore power to the five customers off supply.
Operational Faults Manager Kevin Kelly said that without the drone, repairs could have taken days and involved a huge amount of effort and machinery to access the site, eliminating any environmental impact to vegetation and the surrounding area.
“The drone has helped us get power back on faster, safer and at lower cost,” Mr Kelly said.
“It was a fantastic partnership between our local crews from Colac and our in-house drone team.”
Powercor’s Remote Inspections Operations Manager, Mustafa Mustafa, said the repair work in Deans Marsh was a huge milestone for the network’s capabilities.
“We are continuing to find new ways to use drones that are delivering real benefits to our customers,” Mr Mustafa said.
“Our team’s ability to navigate tough terrain to help our field crew shows how drones can improve safety, speed up operations, and restore power to customers faster.
“This is a milestone in using cutting-edge technology to support our crews and our communities more effectively.”
This new capability builds on the extensive activities the in-house drone team is already delivering. Powercor set up the team last year to inspect power pole tops in high-risk bushfire areas, providing an extra layer of protection alongside our existing asset inspection and maintenance program.
Powercor’s team of CASA-qualified drone pilots help conduct additional inspections in high-risk areas.
This work is over and above the broader program that involves inspecting and maintaining more than 77,000 kilometres of powerlines, 602,000 power poles and other infrastructure on a rolling cycle of at least 2.5 years.
