07.27.2021

Get Ahead and Improve Post-Storm Recovery

Big storms happen. Life is unpredictable that way. But in many cases,  extreme weather can be a bit more predictable. For instance, If you operate in Florida, you can expect hurricanes. If you operate in California, you can expect wildfires. If you operate in New York, you can expect ice storms.


Unfortunately, climate experts are saying that’s not all you can expect. Regardless of where you operate, more extreme weather is predicted to come your way. This rise of extreme weather has made one thing clear for energy executives: If dealing with mother nature isn’t top of mind, it should be.

Get Ebook: Preparing for Mother Nature

The most straightforward way to safely and effectively assess post-disaster damage is by using drones. Drones fly at a higher altitude and have better mobility than other inspection methods. This provides a better vantage point to see things like which lines are down and where flooding exists so you can mobilize crews around it, keeping your linemen out of harm’s way. 

But there’s no way around it: a reactive approach is expensive. When a storm hits in the middle of the night and blows everything out, everyone’s on overtime, and you may have to rush-order replacement parts (if you can even identify which parts need to be replaced). Based on our work with some of America’s largest utilities and leading O&G companies, this type of storm response can be up to 10x more expensive when compared to the proactive approach to storm preparedness.


More frequent asset inspections using drones is a great way to save money. By capturing images of your assets regularly, you can predict what parts will fail in a storm and fix them at your discretion before a storm takes them down. You can also know exactly what exists in the field, so when your equipment burns up or washes away, you know which parts to order and replace, thus speeding up the restoration process. 

 


Download the Preparing for Mother Nature ebook, to examine the three common extreme weather events and how better aerial intelligence can help you reduce damage and restore power quickly when disaster inevitably strikes.

Get Ebook: Preparing for Mother Nature