Santa and his elves greeted more than 100 school children with Christmas gifts in Romsey last Thursday, delivered not by a sleigh but by a Powercor helicopter.
The visit was a way to say thanks to the community, which has supported Powercor’s aerial vegetation inspection and vegetation cutting programs throughout the year.
The helicopters have already begun flying their 2022 inspection cycle, as part of Powercor’s efforts to keep the electricity network safe and reliable.
The aircraft are fitted with advanced Light Detection and Ranging technology to scan for vegetation growing near to powerlines.
Powercor has completed its 2021 LiDAR flight schedule and is wasting no time starting the new season.
Weather permitting, the Bell 505 helicopters will be flying at an altitude of just over 300m, capturing enormous amounts of data to form a 3D image of powerlines across the region.
Powercor is responsible for the cutting and removal of trees near its 88,000km of powerlines within the boundaries of private properties and on public land, in order to maintain the required safe clearance space.
