Powercor tree check: Low-flying helicopters equipped with lasers to fly over Geelong

Eagle-eyed residents might notice low-flying choppers cruising over Geelong in the coming weeks. Here’s why.

Helicopters are scanning powerlines in the Geelong and Surf Coast areas as part of Powercor’s bushfire mitigation and vegetation management program. Pictured: 2023 scanning data

Eagle-eyed Geelong residents should keep an eye out for low-flying helicopters equipped with state-of-the-art lasers, as Powercor conducts crucial vegetation checks.

The company has advised residents they may see and hear the helicopters, which will fly just 300m above the ground, over the next few weeks.

Three helicopters will fly across Geelong and the Surf Coast, using technology known as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to scan how close tree branches are to powerlines.

The scans help Powercor identify which trees need to be trimmed, with the aim of reducing power outages and fires as part of its bushfire-mitigation and vegetation-management program.

A snippet of the 2023 3D modelling data, with Rydges Geelong on the right. Picture: Supplied

Powercor teams create 3D models of powerlines and their surroundings using the LiDAR data.

The data is collected annually, with year-on-year data also helping track growth rates for different vegetation types.

This allows cutting teams to plan ahead for areas that show faster growth.

Powercor’s head of vegetation management, Ayce Cordy, said the

program was about keeping power safe and reliable for homes and businesses.

“Our work is about reducing the risk of trees and branches coming into contact with powerlines, which can lead to power outages and fires,” Mr Cordy said.

A snippet of the 2023 data, showing St Mary of the Angels Basilica. Picture: Supplied

Powercor has a fleet of three choppers, all based out of Avalon Airport, which will cruise above Geelong at 129km/h, gathering a terabyte of data per day.

The third helicopter was added to the fleet in November last year.

Across the year, the three helicopters scan more than 77,000km of powerlines in western Victoria, while Powercor’s vegetation team cuts more than 500,000 trees and shrubs.

The clearance requirements are set by the state’s energy safety watchdog, Energy Safe Victoria (ESV).

The helicopters will be scanning powerlines in and around Geelong as well as towns along the Surf Coast, but also rural areas in the region.

As part of Powercor’s cutting program, workers can enter private property to cut trees back from powerlines. Property owners are usually notified of cutting required, however, the company said advance notice wasn’t always possible if urgent cutting was required.

Powercor moves electricity to and from more than 902,000 homes and businesses in the western suburbs of Melbourne to the South Australia and New South Wales borders.

A snippet of the 2023 data, showing the city’s tallest building, 71m tall Miramar, with the Mercer St silos in the background. Picture: Supplied

Originally published as Powercor tree check: Low-flying helicopters equipped with lasers to fly over Geelong