General News
28 March, 2024
Choppers checking power lines, clearance across region
HELICOPTERS have taken to the skies around Boort scanning powerlines as part of Powercor’s year-round bushfire mitigation and vegetation management program. Powecor says residents in Boort, Kerang Echuca could see choppers fly about 300 metres...
HELICOPTERS have taken to the skies around Boort scanning powerlines as part of Powercor’s year-round bushfire mitigation and vegetation management program.
Powecor says residents in Boort, Kerang Echuca could see choppers fly about 300 metres above the ground for several weeks.
The choppers are equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to scan the distance between tree branches and powerlines.
Using the LiDAR data, Powercor teams create 3D models of powerlines and their surroundings, helping to inform what vegetation needs to be cut.
Three helicopters are being used to gather new data.
Year-on-year data is helping track growth for different vegetation types, allowing cutting teams to plan ahead for areas that show faster growth. Powercor’s head of vegetation management Ayce Cordy said the extensive vegetation management program was about keeping power safe and reliable for homes and businesses.
“Our work is about reducing the risk of trees and branches coming into contact with powerlines, which can lead to power outages and fires,” Mr Cordy said.
“These flights are just part of our extensive work to keep the network safe and reliable for our communities.”
The helicopters will be scanning powerlines in and around Echuca, Kerang and Boort townships themselves, as well as in rural areas in the region.
Each year Powercor uses a fleet of three helicopters to inspect 100 per cent of more than 77,000km of powerlines and 597,000 poles across central and western Victoria.
Last year, teams cut more than 500,000 trees and shrubs growing near more than 50,000 powerline spans (the distance between two poles).
Last year, Powercor’s vegetation team conducted a second vegetation inspection in the highest bushfire risk areas to help inform any further cutting that may need to occur ahead of summer.
Since 2022, Powercor says it has increased its cutting resources by 60 per cent across the network.
Powercor is responsible for the cutting of trees near its powerlines within the boundaries of private properties and on some parts of public land.