Choppers will be a regular sight in the skies over the Bellarine, Geelong and the Surf Coast in coming weeks as Powercor conducts aerial scanning for trees growing dangerously close to powerlines.
The electricity distribution company has begun its annual survey of vegetation around the region, which will continue until early May.
Powercor’s fleet of three Bell helicopters will fly about 300 metres above ground, at a low cruising speed of around 130km/h.
Using light detection and ranging (LIDAR), operators scan the distance between tree branches and powerlines..
Once the data has been collected, bushfire mitigation and vegetation management teams create 3D models of powerlines and their surroundings to determine where vegetation needs to be cut.
The local survey is part of a year-round program that inspects every single stretch of more than 77,000 kilometres of powerlines.
Powercor’s head of Vegetation Management Ayce Cordy said it was important that accurate measurements were taken of all vegetation each and every year.
“Inspecting and managing vegetation growing near powerlines is an essential part of how we keep power safe and reliable for our customers,” Mr Cordy said.
“By capturing data every year, we can track growth rates of vegetation across our network, helping us plan where to cut right now and when we may need to conduct cutting in the future.”
