MP power company hires drones to detect faults in transmission lines

Jabalpur, Mar 27 (PTI) The state-owned Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company Limited (MPPTCL) has hired drones to detect faults in the high voltage transmission lines, officials said on Sunday.

The drones are being used on an experimental basis for a year in dense forests, hilly terrains and plains in and around Jabalpur, doing away with the time consuming traditional practice where technical staffers climb on towers to find out faults in the transmission lines, before repairing them manually, MPPTCL's Managing Director Sunil Tiwari told PTI.

“The cost efficiency of drones is being studied and if viable, it would be used permanently. Our engineers have been supervising its operations since January," he said.

The use of drones was showing encouraging results, MPPTCL's spokesperson and assistant engineer Shashikant Ojha said.

A fault in a power line near the Amarkantak area was detected with a drone recently, he said, adding that they get the drones from a private company, based on the demand.

If there is a spark in a supply line, the drone detects it before it trips, he added.

The MPPTCL directs electricity from power generating stations to the distribution companies, which in-turn supply power to nearly one crore consumers across the state, an official of the state-owned MP Power Management Company Limited said. PTI COR LAL GK GK