Drone data analysis helps power grid operators to detect defects that would be otherwise hidden from the naked eye. While traditional, on-foot inspection teams depend on what they see from the ground, drones enable inspection teams to both get a closer look at the power poles and use different sensors for data collection.

There are more than 60 million kilometres of power lines in the world and thousands of distribution and transmission network operators who have to maintain and service those lines. It is not an easy task, nor one where the experiences would be similar to all parties. While the operating logic and goals are shared by all operators, the challenges differ.

Digital twin technology in utilities helps to solve future trouble spots and hazards today. From predicting asset breakdowns to vegetation analysis, digital twins are changing the utilities operational landscape.

E.DIS Netz, a subsidiary of one the largest energy service providers in Germany, the E.DIS Group, recently finished testing novel drone-based inspection solutions in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The tests were conducted as part of a larger program for E.DIS Netz, which aims to evaluate how drones can be used in power line inspections.

The T&D grid is under pressure like never before. There are a number of data-driven digital solutions to help shore up the grid that have been getting a lot of press lately. While grid inspection may seem like a mainly analog process and doesn’t get the press other utility operations do, it too can be strengthened through digitalization and play a crucial role in the digital utility of the future.