Utility Week

26 | 21ST - 27TH FEBRUARY 2020 | UTILITY WEEK D rone use by utilities is on the increase and as the technology advances and prices come down a range of new applications are helping stream- line operations, improve safety and cut costs. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fitted with sensors and high-resolution cameras are increasingly being deployed to support the monitoring and maintenance of assets like transmission lines, wind turbines, or other infrastructure where human intervention is impractical or dangerous. Joanne Murray, UK drones assurance lead, PwC: says " e ultimate aim for UAVs is increased automation, so the technology can perform the required data capture with minimum input from a pilot. Many commercial drones are currently flown using a pre-programmed flight path but the human is still very much in the loop. Technology is advancing to the point where drones can fly as swarms or can be located in a box and fly daily routes independently of any pilot." Severn Trent Water, whose pioneering use of drones enabled £750,000 of savings in the first year of operation, is turning increasingly to thermal imaging to identify faults, leaks or other anomalies. It used the technology to scan anaerobic digestion tanks to highlight changes in temperature that might indicate a leak or a loss of efficiency and to monitor the flow of wastewater from a sewage treatment works through reed beds. Keith Leadbetter, operations and maintenance assurance manager at Severn Trent Water, says: " ermography can tell us if reed beds are working efficiently or 'short circuiting', which can reduce their efficiency or cause reeds to die. It means we can step in and stop any risk of pollution. We also track the route of wastewater as it flows through settlement lagoons [wastewater has a slightly higher temperature than surrounding water] to ensure the process is efficient and if there's a build-up of silt where the water is being forced around a different route." Confined or restrictive spaces are often no-go areas for humans, but the ELIOS 2 drone by Flyability has been specially adapted to buzz around them without the danger of busting its blades. e machine is surrounded by a carbon-fibre pro- tective frame designed to bounce off obstacles without interrupting the recording of high-resolution stills or video. Severn Trent Water used it to study culverts as well as the substructure of wells due to be capped, to help contractors understand the work required and the risks involved. However, prospective users need to be aware of certain caveats, says Leadbetter: "It is not EX-rated As they look to cut operational costs, energy and water companies are turning to drones for inspection and monitoring. Stephen Cousins reports. H i g h f l i e r s

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