O&M

Drones to probe asset status for Gulf Power’s systems

Drones to probe asset status for Gulf Power’s systems

Gulf Power utilizing drones to inspect lines.

Florida utility Gulf Power will use drones to take photos of equipment along power lines in neighborhoods. The move to unmanned aerial systems will focus on the area stretching from Santa Rosa County eastward to Bay County.

“This will help us improve reliability and is a more efficient and cost-saving way to inspect our equipment,” said Mike Spoor, Gulf Power vice president. “We will be using FAA-approved drone pilots and they will be identified as Gulf Power contractors. They will be placing signs in the areas they work so customers will know it’s a Gulf Power project.”

In the past, Gulf Power engineers would drive along the lines and take pictures of equipment with infrared cameras. The drones will be within 10 feet of the equipment at the top of a pole to get a better view of any issues.

POWERGEN+ Online April 28-29: Optimizing Plant Performance

“Once an issue is identified, then our line crews can come make repairs before the outage occurs,” Spoor said. “We will be working safely and should be able to avoid any inconveniences with our customers.”

Utilities long have engaged UAS for line inspection. Some are expanding that drone use to more centralized operations such as the power plant.

On Wednesday, April 28, DroneDeploy will sponsor and lead a POWERGEN+ online session on “Your Pathway to Digital Transformation: Leveraging Drone Data for Utilities.” Josh Voelker, enterprise solutions engineer at DroneDeploy, will focus the 45-minute session on use cases for drone insights in optimizing power plant performance.

Registration for POWERGEN+ is free. The session is 1:30 p.m.-2:15 p.m. CT on April 28.