July 2016, Vol. 71 No. 7
Newsline
PG&E Tests Safety Drones For Infrastructure Inspections
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced its current testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to enhance the safety and reliability of its electric and gas services. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized PG&E’s use of drones to assist with electric and gas infrastructure inspections.
PG&E announced two separate testing programs to further explore the viability of safety drones in monitoring electric infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas, as well as to detect methane leaks across its 70,000-square-mile service area. The drones are inconspicuous and controlled by operators through remote control commands. The aircraft are always flown within the sight line of operators over PG&E’s electric and gas infrastructure.
The company recently conducted its first test flight with the drones at the Balch Powerhouse, a hydroelectric facility located in the high Sierra Mountains outside Fresno, CA. Current situations require PG&E employees to use fall-resistant equipment to assess facilities like Balch Powerhouse, due to the elevation and sharp vertical angles of the terrain. Drones are able to accomplish such inspections with ease and without risk to employees.
In addition, PG&E is working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the University of California, Merced’s Mechatronics Embedded Systems and Automation (MESA) Lab, and Pipeline Research Council International to conduct testing of NASA’s Open Path Laser Spectrometer sensor on a drone. The miniature methane sensor is similar to the technology developed to find life on Mars and is 1,000 times more sensitive than most technology available commercially.
PG&E has been encouraged by recent testing results, and the utility believes drones can supplement its current abilities to access and monitor remote infrastructure, as well as the ability to be equipped with a wide variety of sensors to detect leaks and structural issues.
415-973-5930, www.pge.com.
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