Drones replaced helicopters in the inspection of Skagerak Nett’s entire power grid in Hjartdal municipality

STAVANGER, Norway, 16 November 2020 – KVS Technologies has successfully completed a drone inspection of Skagerak Nett’s high-voltage power grid in Hjartdal municipality in Telemark, Norway. The entire grid comprising 1206 masts was inspected by fully-electric drones, making it the first time one of Norway’s largest utility companies has used drones to replace helicopters in inspecting a municipality’s entire grid. KVS Technologies performs BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) flights, which enables efficient operations on a large scale.

Skagerak Nett has previously conducted inspections by helicopter or on foot, which are the traditional and most widely-used methods in the industry. ‘We are looking for new and better ways to improve asset inspections. Drone inspection and documentation have many benefits that are superior to traditional helicopter inspections,’ says Morten Gøytil, Skagerak Nett’s Maintenance Manager.

KVS Technologies’ drones captured data that was instantaneously available to Skagerak Nett in real-time. This allowed Skagerak Nett to review the data in the same week that the drones inspected the grid. ‘The captured documentation from the drones gave us very good insights to asset health and uncovered faults that needed immediate action. The drones completed the job as fast as helicopters would have done, while providing greater safety for our crew, better documentation, and less noise pollution,’ says Gøytil.

Many utility companies already use small drones as a complement to helicopter services, but it is anticipated that autonomous drones will increasingly take center stage. According to Bloomberg NEF, operators will spend US$2.4 billion on software for monitoring, operating, and automating the distribution and transmission grid in 2025. Within software markets for the grid, the fastest growing segment is drones and augmented reality.

‘More and more utility companies are thinking about digitalisation, and Skagerak Nett have taken a forward-thinking approach in adopting drone technology for higher-quality and more reliable data,’ says Håkon Kjerkreit, KVS Technologies’ VP of Services. ‘This is the first time that Skagerak Energi, one of the largest power companies in Norway, has used drones to replace helicopters in the inspection of an entire municipality’s grid. This signalises the scalability and massive potential of drone technology.’