Newport City – The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) continues to seek new technologies to maintain an electrical network to provide reliable power and improve network resilience. Recently, VEC has passed a contract with organizations that use drones for various purposes, in particular to inspect the electric lines, transmission stations and distribution posts.
During a recent webinar entitled Flying for the Future, the Director of Operation of the VEC, Peter Rossi, said he replaced helicopters making aerial patrols with drones. Each year, VEC inspects 20% of the grid. This results in 540 miles of distribution lines, including 11,527 distribution centers and 2,300 transmission centers.
Helicopters can cross areas where there is no road network or there is damaged land. Conversely, they fly more than 200 feet above the ground, which makes it difficult to locate potential problems.
“We can use drones and hire ex-Lin workers who know what to search,” said Rossi. They launched the first drone inspection program in 2024, which took two weeks. On the other hand, before 2024, they hired a business to inspect the lines, Pole by Pole, which took two to three months.
With drones, VEC is able to collect data on the size of the wire and the transformers, which have entered a database. Rossi said in the future that VEC will incorporate thermal imagery to display interior connections that even a drone cannot see. As a bonus, drones can identify where there can be a vegetation problem that could interfere with the operation of the grid.
The results are reduced breakdowns, better data collection and better correspondence of priority repair categories. In other words, a red match means that the problem ranks as the highest priority that requires immediate action. An orange or yellow match is recorded and processed on a later date.
Drones are particularly useful in stormy weather when the roads are blocked by snow or fell trees. The drone pilot can assess what equipment is necessary to solve the problem and send a crew to the site.
The weather affects drones, including the transmission signal. Wind and cold can reduce the effectiveness of a drone. The VEC drones used are two feet by two feet.
A momentum for Rossi to explore new technologies is the result of two deaths that occurred a few years ago. The incident took place while it was on aerial patrol, driving Rossi to melt all helicopter flights.
Another technology that VEC can consider using in conjunction with drones is the use of LIDAR. This technology uses lasers for digital 3D grid image sections, and can be used at night. Rossi would like to create a 3D model from the whole grid.
“We can examine the most risky part of the system and get more information,” said Rossi.
Shawn Juire is a VEC operations supervisor that has spent years as a line player. He said drones could broadcast videos from a drone and broadcast it to the company’s command center.
A question and answer session followed the presentation. Rossi said the future costs of expanding the drone program would depend on the options negotiated with drone companies. Lidar and streaming video are two options that VEC could consider adding next year.
Drons flying above the head can be a confidentiality problem. Rossi said the drone only focuses on lines and poles; They do not reject houses and cars. It is also aware that some people have tight animals.
“We alert the landowners when we fly over,” said Rossi. VEC sends opinions to those on a list of contacts.
What does Juire love drone technology?
“I learned their versatility,” said Juire. “Now we see the information they can bring back; We can learn from it. “
At this stage, VEC contracts for drone technology. Rossi investigates work with a person with military experience that has a good knowledge of drones. There may be opportunities where a drone is necessary for a specific problem that can be quickly answered.
“I would like a daily drone,” said Rossi. “We can proactively obtain potential damage reports.”
VEC line editors must always visibly inspect the poles, but over time with greater automation, their role can be somewhat reduced.
