Aerial technology shows great promise for increased reliability
Drones could soon become standard equipment on electric co-op trucks says Andrew Chronister, instructor with Southeast Missouri State University’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program. And Andrew is teaching the skills co-op employees will need to put this technology to work.
“I think for linemen at electric co-ops that’s just going to be a standard issue and a part of their training,” he says. “It’s another tool the linemen can use to save time. If you go up the pole and have a plan, and if you have all the material you need with you, you are more efficient and safer.”
During an outage, he adds, electric co-ops can launch a drone to quickly assess damage to lines.
“You can figure out what you need to do before you put somebody in a bucket or get somebody up on a pole,” Andrew adds.
In May, Andrew led the third drone school hosted by Missouri Electric Cooperatives at its training center in Jefferson City. To date, more than 75 employees, including several members of the Rural Missouri staff, have been trained through the classes.
The chief goal of the training is to help future co-op drone pilots pass their Federal Aviation Administration Airman Knowledge Test, a requirement for operating commercial drones. However the 18 employees who took the recent class left with a keen understanding of how to safely use drones in the field. “The FAA’s goal is to make sure drones and airplanes don’t mix,” Andrew says. “And that we are responsible and we fly with that mindset.”
Electric co-ops are using drones to survey and identify problems with power lines. Some have drones equipped with thermal cameras to identify hot spots. Drones could also be used to more effectively spray vegetation in power line rights of way, a big plus in preventing outages.
Grundy Electric Co-op’s right-of-way supervisor C.L. Vestal says he took the class because his co-op is interested in using drones to control vegetation under its lines. The co-op is currently testing the effectiveness of aerial spraying in a small area, which looks promising.
“The innovation is there,” he says. “Where it’s going to be in a few years is going to be unreal. You’re going to be able to strategically pinpoint using artificial intelligence to pick out a certain plant and just spray that plant.”
Safety is another consideration. Climbing a pole involves risks for lineworkers. Drones can be used for inspection without this risk.
Andrew says students in his course have used their skills to inspect giant wind turbines from ground level, reducing the need to climb to dangerous heights.
These days, reliability is important to electric co-op members. If technology like drones can help keep the lights on, electric co-ops will be sure to use them to their best advantage.
During the school Howard Electric Cooperative’s Brandon Lightfoot launches a drone while Grundy Electric Cooperative’s C.L. Vestal waits for his turn.