General News
20 February, 2023
Helicopters head to region for powerline inspections
Hovering in the air with a purpose, helicopters will be frequently visible over the coming months as powerline inspections get underway in Maryborough. As part of electricity distributor Powercor’s year-round vegetation management and tree-cutting...
Hovering in the air with a purpose, helicopters will be frequently visible over the coming months as powerline inspections get underway in Maryborough.
As part of electricity distributor Powercor’s year-round vegetation management and tree-cutting program, helicopter inspections are taking place over the next two months in Central Victoria, including Maryborough, Dunolly and Bendigo.
The helicopters are fitted with advanced Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to accurately identify the distances of trees to powerlines. This information is fed back to experienced teams that will cut the vegetation away from powerlines to keep the network and community safe.
Headed up by a team of highly qualified pilots, the Powercor flights will use the Maryborough Aerodrome for landing and refuelling and are also expected to land in the town several times across a five week period.
Powercor head of vegetation management Chris Heinz said the program was a critical part of keeping the network safe.
“Our work is about reducing the risk of trees and branches coming into contact with powerlines, which can lead to power outages and fires,” he said.
“By inspecting the entire network every year, we are able to determine where and when we need to cut trees and branches away from powerlines.
“On any given day, we have more than 300 people managing vegetation to keep our network safe and reliable.”
Teams attend sites on both private and public property to assess and scope what cutting needs to occur. If crews are required to cut trees on private property, Powercor will notify customers in advance of any cutting unless the work needs to occur immediately for safety reasons.
“Each year we cut back hundreds of thousands of trees and branches away from powerlines,” Mr Heinz said.