AP-Transco mulls drone patrolling to assess health of transmission assets

Photos and visuals taken by the drones will be analysed with the help of Artificial Intelligence and other tools, and repairs done wherever required, says AP-Transco. Representational Image | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak The AP-Transco has recently invited tenders from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-compliant drone service providers to deploy their unmanned aerial vehicles to help assess the health of its transmission assets on a pilot basis to be able to do preventive maintenance in a more efficient manner.To start with, the successful bidders will fly drones to monitor the condition of transmission line assets covering approximately 23,000 towers and 8,500 kilometers of 400 kV, 220 kV and 132 kV (Extra High Voltage) lines for a period of two years.Photos and visuals taken by the drones will be analysed with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tools and repairs done wherever required. “The drone patrolling will be extended to 33,000 kilometres of Transco lines, depending on the outcome of the pilot project,” AP-Transco Director (Grid, Transmission & Management) A.K.V. Bhaskar told The Hindu.The objective of drone patrolling is to reduce the costs and time taken to assess the condition of the transmission infrastructure. In this regard, AP-Transco has drawn from the experience of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) in having the condition of its assets assessed with the help of drones equipped with multi-sensor payloads.Deployment of drones is intended to identify problems from all angles, some of which tend to be overlooked during manual inspections, affecting grid stability and having financial implications too. The basic advantage is several sorties (of drones) can be completed in far less time than is possible with human intervention.The videos and high-resolution photos, including thermal images, of the EHV lines, bolts, angulars, earbands, insulators etc. captured by drones and analysed with AI from time to time enable AP-Transco in fixing technical snags effectively. It is getting some required AI tools developed in-house to minimise costs. Published - September 04, 2026 09:08 pm IST