Choppers to fly over Geelong for aerial powerline inspections
Social media has been abuzz with chatter about helicopters flying across Geelong. Find out why they're here and what they're doing.
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Helicopters are hovering over the region using laser technology to create 3D images of the city.
The choppers are part of aerial powerline inspections and are fitted with advanced light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to accurately measure the distances of trees to powerlines.
The inspections for Powercor’s vegetation maintenance and tree-cutting programs are underway across Geelong, the Surf Coast and the Bellarine Peninsula.
Pilots complete the inspections each year to determine where vegetation is growing too close to powerlines and when it needs to be cut back.
Bell 505 choppers will hover over the region at an altitude of just 300m and fly at 129km/hr, capturing data to form 3D images.
Powercor’s head of vegetation management, Chris Heinz, said the yearly program was a critical part of keeping the network reliable.
“We’re able to use the data from our LiDAR helicopter scans to form a 3D model of the network, which our teams use to identify trees requiring trimming,” he said.
The program reduces the risk of trees and branches coming into contact with powerlines with can lead to fires and outages.
Trained cutting teams assess vegetation to determine what needs to be maintained on both public and private property.
“We have more than 300 people managing vegetation to keep our network safe and reliable,” Mr Heinz said.
The distance between trees and powerlines need to meet clearance requirements that are set out by Energy Safe Victoria, the state’s energy regulator.
If crews are required to cut trees on private property, customers are notified by Powercor in advance unless the work needs to occur immediately for safety reasons.
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Originally published as Choppers to fly over Geelong for aerial powerline inspections
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