Innovation and Development

Drones

As the Distribution Network Operator (DSO) in mainland Portugal, E-REDES is responsible for the management of 179 000 km of electricity grid. 68 000 km (~38%) comprise overhead network and of this number, 28 000 km (~42%) are in forest areas.

One of E-REDES' priorities is to ensure the operation of the overhead network in order to guarantee the safety and quality of the electric power supply, while simultaneously ensuring the best conditions for forest defence and protection. To this end, the company has been strengthening its commitment to the development of innovative solutions that enable the maintenance and monitoring of its electrical grids and the vegetation in its vicinity.

The use of drones makes it possible to quickly detect faults, and E-REDES now has another tool for post-execution inspections of lane opening works: proprietary drones, as a complementary means of inspecting the high voltage and medium voltage network.

To mitigate some of the risks arising from situations of proximity of vegetation to the power grid, E-REDES has been carrying out preventive maintenance inspections for over 25 years, initially with ground sweeps, and later using helicopters. In this context, the following milestones are highlighted:

THE WAY
The First Air Inspection

In 1994 the first helicopter inspection was performed with RGB image capture (detection of anomalies such as damaged assets in the network) and thermography (detection of hot spots in network assets and characterization of their severity).

THE WAY
Cameras with stabilizers

The first cameras with stabilizers mounted on the underside of the helicopter body were introduced in 1996.

THE WAY
LIDAR Technology

LiDAR technology is introduced in 2006, consisting of a 3D image construction technology using laser beams that can obtain more reliable measurements of line distances to vegetation, compared to the measurements that need to be made with RGB images.

THE WAY
The first drones

The first in-house drones were developed by EDP Labelec in 2014, with a view to serving as a complement to the inspections carried out by helicopter.

Regarding inspections using helicopters, in 2020 and 2021 EDP Labelec (E-REDES service provider for this type of work) inspected about 19,700 km per year using RGB images, thermography and LiDAR, with an expected increase to 27,000 km of network inspected in 2022.

GridDrone
In 2021, in a search for alternatives to the use of helicopters in this type of inspection, E-REDES decided to carry out a pilot project focused on the use of drones, the GridDrone project, where, together with an Estonian company, Hepta Airborne, it inspected 1000 km of high and medium voltage network in the districts of Viseu and Coimbra. The results of this project were evaluated internally, with the help of members of the Vegetation Management Department (DGV) of E-REDES and EDP Labelec, with the service currently provided always at quality standard.
Drones
E-Drone
The company launched the E-Drone project, which consists of carrying out inspections of network assets using commercial drones. For this project, it was necessary to complete the process of acquiring the drones, taking out civil liability insurance, training the pilots, obtaining the respective licenses, registering E-REDES as a drone operator with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) and the National Aeronautical Authority (AAN) and, finally, appointing the operational manager for this activity. The use of this technology made it possible to carry out a detailed inspection of the network and visualize all the components of the asset. E-REDES is once again at the forefront of innovation, this time by using and adapting innovative solutions for the inspection of its technical assets.
Earth Observation for Vegetation Management
The Earth Observation for Vegetation Management (EOVM) project explored another approach in which, using analytics on satellite images, the use of this type of technology was evaluated as a viable alternative to remote audits of the execution of work orders in the field. This project was carried out in partnership with 3 well-known companies in the sector: Tesselo, 20TreeAI and LiveEO.Tesselo. The results have made it possible to analyse the strengths and limitations of the applicability of analytics on satellite images for vegetation management, and the possibility of moving on to Phase 2 of the project is being analysed, focusing mainly on the evolution of the second use case.

All the projects mentioned up to this point address, in their entirety, the inspection, management and maintenance of the high voltage and medium voltage network in forest areas, however, there is also a component of incident prevention resulting from situations involving vegetation with elements of the low voltage network (LV network).
 
Currently, these types of situations are reported by teams on the ground during systematic preventive maintenance rounds carried out on the grid or through the various channels that E-REDES makes available for reporting this type of information (E-REDS APP, customer support line, etc.). In 2020 a pilot project was carried out, LVWatch, where E-REDES together with NTT DATA, using images captured by E-REDES vehicles, during the travel of employees on their periodic inspection rounds and applying computer vision models, manages to analyse/assess the proximity of vegetation to the LV power grid and identify possible risk points. 
 
Despite the very innovative nature of this project, the results did not allow the roll-out of this type of solution. However, in 2022, supported by the latest technological developments in the area of computer vision, the study of a 2nd Phase of the project is underway with the aim of developing an evolution of this solution, which will enable results to be obtained with the necessary confidence for its implementation in E-REDES operations.