Atlantic City Electric Using Helicopter and Infrared Technology to Inspect Regional Power Lines

Starting this week, Atlantic City Electric will inspect more than 1,300 miles of aerial transmission lines by helicopter and infrared camera in South Jersey.
The aerial inspections are part of the company’s ongoing commitment to deliver safe and reliable service for its customers. Atlantic City Electric crews work year-round to proactively review the company’s system and make needed upgrades and improvements.
These regular inspections allow the company to proactively locate and repair areas of the energy system, making the system less susceptible to damage during extreme weather and preventing outages for customers.
“Whether it’s a record heatwave, intense thunderstorm or major hurricane, inspections, such as these, help us ensure our systems and equipment are prepared to handle the extreme conditions we continue to see across our service area,” said Gary Stockbridge, Atlantic City Electric region president. “This work is essential to our operational success and making sure we can provide our customers the safe, reliable energy services they expect from us, no matter what.”
The helicopters conducting the aerial inspections will fly low at a moderate speed, completing comprehensive visual inspections of transmission lines and guy wire grounding, which is used to support utility poles and protect against potential issues.
Helicopters provide a more efficient and safer option for this kind of work when access to structures on the ground is limited while minimizing impacts to customers in the local area. The use of an infrared camera provides the team with a clear visual of potential areas of concern on the transmission line and other associated equipment.
Following the inspections, Atlantic City Electric will complete any necessary upgrades and maintenance. 
Inspections are scheduled to take place in the Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem counties of southern New Jersey. This work is not anticipated to impact energy service in the company’s service area.
This is just one example of how Atlantic City Electric continually works to help improve and strengthen service reliability. Other reliability work includes trimming trees that could potentially impact the system, building new substations, building new underground equipment, and installing stronger, tree-resistant aerial cable.
The company also installs innovative technologies to improve system reliability, such as specialized equipment that can automatically restore service more quickly or isolate damage. These new technologies have been a main driver behind the continued drop in the number of outages customers experience.
In fact, Atlantic City Electric customers have seen a 22 percent reduction in the frequency of power outages, and when outages did occur, customers were restored 17 percent faster, on average.
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