The Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration (LESA), which provides electricity to over 13 lakh consumers, has started flying drones to detect power pilferers and plug faults in the city.
These mini-flying machines will detect all types of faults and power thefts recently officials conducted a drone flight in Mohanlalganj where they caught several people stealing power. LESA used the recordings of the as evidence against the power thieves. These drones are fitted with high-definition cameras for visual inspection and an infrared camera for thermal imaging and identification of the hot spots used for the purpose.
The spokesperson of BSES said to the media that the successful adoption of drone technology is a huge step in preventive maintenance exercise, critical for ensuring reliable power supply. As a first step, BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) & BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) have undertaken projects for visual & thermal mapping of the distribution infrastructure.
BYPL has collaborated with Garuda UAV, a leading Drone service provider for visual and thermal mapping of the electrical infrastructure, along with the end to end solutions for maintenance and planning.