According to an article by Yahoo News:
AEP Ohio installed its first drone docking station to reduce the frequency and duration of power outages.
“With this docking station, we’ll be actively monitoring the circuits flying over our power lines, poles and equipment to identify issues on those pieces of equipment and then we’re able to relay that information back to our crews to get the issues fixed,” AEP Ohio Project Manager Jake Reed said.
The docking station is at the substation that serves Clintonville and Linden residents. It allows the drone to stay on site and be at trouble spots within minutes.
“The intent is that we identify the solution quick and then at that point the line crew is on site ready to make the repair,” AEP Ohio Vice President of Distribution Operations Ryan Forbes said.
The docking station will also allow AEP Ohio workers to pilot the drones remotely.
“When there’s trouble, with the click of a button, we’re able to deploy the drone from here in headquarters in Gahanna,” Forbes said.
From the Center for Customer Reliability, drone pilots can conduct weekly inspections. So not only are they responding to outages, but they’re also trying to prevent them.
“In the past year, we’ve found almost 300 instances where we fixed an outage before it happened,” Forbes said.
Soaring to new heights, together.
Be sure to visit the BWU Technology Partnerships Initiative website to learn more about how our NEOFIX program drives economic growth, promotes policy and infrastructure to improve drone safety and efficiency in various industries, and ensures that drone technology is being used responsibly.