EPRI, NMSU study drones’ use in assessing storm damage

New Mexico Business Weekly - New Mexico State University    and the Electric Power Research Institute in California have teamed up to test the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to assess storm damage on utility distribution systems. The first battery of tests show that UAVs can be effectively used for that purpose, saidMatthew Olearczyk, EPRI senior program manager for distribution research. “Our research clearly shows that drones may provide utilities with a tool that could reduce outage restoration time,” Olearczyk said. “Using live streaming video information, utility system operators would be able to dramatically improve damage assessment.” Testing is being done at NMSU’s Flight Test Center in Las Cruces, run by the Physical Science Laboratory. Read More News New Mexico

EPRI, NMSU study drones’ use in assessing storm damage