February 25, 2022

A recent winter storm coated parts of our service territory with a thick layer of ice – bringing down power lines, toppling trees and creating treacherous travel conditions. One of the hardest-hit areas was in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania – where power was knocked out to more than 36,000 West Penn Power customers.

After the storm passed, West Penn Power identified several circuits that it wanted to inspect from the air for damaged equipment. With helicopters still grounded by the weather, the company turned to another option for getting a bird’s-eye view of trouble spots: FirstEnergy’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) team.

In the wake of the storm, the UAS team mobilized two drone flight crews and had them ready to respond. “The main obstacles our crews face are weather and road conditions,” said Randy Inman, supervisor, Meteorology and UAS Services. “As long as we can safely travel to the job site and the weather is favorable for drone flight, we can launch missions and perform equipment inspections.”

Pennsylvania Operations Manager Kevin Poole helped to coordinate the UAS team’s efforts during the recent storm. Having worked with team members before, he knew the service they provide is top-notch.

“The drone pilots can zoom in on specific pieces of equipment and capture detailed photographs and video of structural issues that could be responsible for an outage,” said Kevin. “They send us a picture of the damage, the number of the affected pole and the longitude and latitude of the damage location so we know exactly where to send our crews to make repairs. It is safer and saves us a lot of time since we don’t have to dispatch a crew to walk the line from the ground.”

FirstEnergy’s drones can fly in winds up to 20 mph and in temperatures down to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Randy believes that the most ideal way to perform aerial inspections during storm restoration events is to employ a combination of helicopters and drones. “Inspecting a circuit with a drone takes more time, but they are often a better option in more populated areas since they are small and quiet – making them less noticeable to residents on the ground.”

Drones can zoom in on specific pieces of equipment and capture detailed photographs and video of structural issues that could be responsible for an outage. A drone took this image – showing a missing insulator on a pole – following the recent storm event in West Penn Power territory.

Have Drone – Will Travel

The UAS team is available to perform drone inspections for all FirstEnergy Utilities groups. In addition to providing support during storm restoration events, drones can be used to inspect distribution lines, transmission assets, equipment at substations, vegetation rights of way, communication towers and even osprey nests. They also can be fitted with an infrared camera to seek out hot spots on equipment.

Drone teams typically conduct two types of inspections:

1. General – Search for downed power lines, trees or branches on wires, broken insulators and other issues that could cause a service disruption.
2. Comprehensive – A planned, in-depth review of a circuit, examining poles and crossarms for signs of wear, and looking at other assets (e.g., insulators, transformers) for damage.

“Whether it’s for storm restoration, substation inspection or transmission line maintenance, the UAS team provides a valuable service,” Kevin said. “We definitely plan to work with Randy and his group again.”

During storm restoration events, drones are often a better option in more populated areas since they are smaller and quieter than helicopters – making them less noticeable to residents on the ground.