Jabalpur: Power Transmission company has adopted the Drone technology for patrolling its 220KV Extra High Voltage transmission lines. The grand success of the pilot project has paved the way for use of this technology.
In its first phase, the patrolling of 220KV EHV tower and associated lines will be carried out through Drone, and later on, the technique will be extended for patrolling of 400KV and 132KV EHT lines.
Talking to reporters, Sunil Tiwari, Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company said, "In the first phase, MPPTCL will collect the data by carrying out the patrolling of 2850 Kilometer line length and covering about 10,000 towers through patrolling. The collected data will be analyzed at the micro level through artificial intelligence software. This work will start on October 22 and will be completed by March’23."
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The use of drones will help in the effective patrolling of towers located in tough geographical terrains. At the same time during the line fault, the data, video, and photographs of the tower received through patrolling will help in quick analysis of the fault, thereby ultimately reducing the time of breakdown.
The Drone patrolling will also help in monitoring even minor defects which can be attended to during preventive maintenance of lines. MPPTCL is transmitting the power through 39572 CKT KMs of EHV lines. For timely proper maintenance of these lines passing through many inaccessible geographical areas including mountains, rivers, and ponds, it was necessary to use advanced and effective technology, so that 24x7 power supply could be ensured as per the policy of the government.
For the first time, Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company is using drone patrolling to monitor about 100 lines that are more than 35 years old in the state. By analyzing the data received from drone patrolling of towers, rusting and identifying missing tower parts will make the repair work possible in time.
According to the officials of the Madhya Pradesh Power Transmission Company, a plan has also been prepared by the company to build a GIS-based sub-station, which will soon be given shape in Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, and Jabalpur.
