How Inspections Safeguard Our Power Infrastructure
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Northern Lights (NLI) crews regularly inspect power lines, substations, and rights-of-way to increase reliability and resilience. Inspections help NLI schedule preventive maintenance and vegetation management. These efforts help prevent outages and damage during extreme weather and keep members safe.
NLI assigns lineworkers to inspect specific sections of overhead and underground lines. They use a tablet with a checklist to work through specific items, record what they find, and take photos. This information is kept in a database within NLI’s GIS mapping system. If anything needs attention, it is scheduled for a crew to complete. If something more imminent is found, the inspector will contact NLI’s dispatch to have a crew sent to correct the issue as quickly as possible. Some of the findings during the inspection include extensive woodpecker damage to poles, loose connections, or missing guy guards on poles.
NLI currently has 2,916 miles of power lines, so inspections take several years to complete.
In addition to internal line inspections, NLI annually contracts with a pole testing provider. This provider tests NLI’s poles for rot, decay, and other issues. They also visually inspect other aspects of the poles and lines. In some cases, the provider can treat poles to extend their lifespans. The provider issues a report weekly with the findings and prioritizes repairs for NLI crews. This data is also added to NLI’s GIS mapping system. Around 2,000 poles are tested annually.
Substation equipment and structures are regularly inspected. There are also annual or biennial inspections that occur, such as testing the oil in the large substation transformers or running simulation tests on the system protection equipment. These inspections and periodic tests help ensure our substations stay in good working order and do not cause major issues for a large base of members.
NLI vegetation personnel inspect rights-of-way to keep ahead of trim cycles. They also receive tree tickets from members and line crews that need to be checked and verified. The tree tickets— areas that need trimming and those that have been trimmed—are documented on a tablet mapping application. Staying ahead of vegetation issues helps improve reliability and safety for members.
NLI’s meter reader inspects all NLI meters over several years. With more than 24,000 meters spread through a wide area, this is no quick task. Inspecting meters ensures issues are caught before they become a problem. 1 item of concern is ensuring members haven’t built around a meter or service making it inaccessible to crews should an emergency occur. The meter reader also will report other issues observed on NLI’s system while traveling throughout the service territory.
Inspections are never-ending for NLI crews. If you get a notification that NLI crews will be in your area or see an NLI crew or contractor performing an inspection, be courteous and provide them with access they may need. This is for your benefit and the rest of NLI’s members.
If you see anything of concern—whether it’s vegetation or a power line or substation issue—we also encourage you to report it to NLI’s dispatch at (208) 263-5141.
Northern Lights Engineering & Operations Manager Kristin Mettke is an electrical engineer and has worked in the electric utility industry most of her career.
