Terna has completed its monitoring of the power grid in Sardinia. It used helicopters from its fleet to inspect around 3100 km of overhead lines in various provinces, for a total of 169 power lines at 60, 130, 220 and 380 kV. Roughly 340 km of these were in the Cagliari area alone.
The company led by Giuseppina Di Foggia prioritises asset monitoring and maintenance, investing a total of around 50 million euros in these activities every year.
Aerial inspections are performed to check for faults on conductors and pylons, keeping the service operating at full efficiency at all times. In just one day, the company is able to analyse around 240 km of lines in this way, as opposed to only 15 km with ground-level inspections, which are nevertheless essential for detecting faults that cannot be spotted from above. By the end of 2023, Terna will have patrolled and inspected some 70,000 km of high-voltage power lines using infrared technology. In other words, it will have analysed the entire regional power grid.
The Italian power grid operator used seven helicopters to conduct these monitoring activities, each one named after birds of Italy: Gheppio (kestrel), Assiolo (Eurasian scops owl), Cuculo (cuckoo), Ghiandaia (Eurasian jay), Cicogna (stork), Nibbio (kite) and Falco (falcon). All the aircraft feature cutting-edge technology — including four new video cameras — managed directly by the on-board crew, allowing data to be viewed in real time.
Furthermore, once the aerial monitoring is complete, the data that have been collected are analysed and processed using a computerised decision support system (DSS). The DSS proactively supports the plant maintenance decision-making process by suggesting asset monitoring, maintenance and replacement according to schedules that follow an established policy.
To operate this equipment, dozens of professionals from Terna’s Plant Units across Italy undergo a period of training at the company’s training centre located at the Marcigliana office in Rome.
On completion of the training, participants become fully qualified Helicopter Inspection Specialists. They then go on a refresher course every year to renew their qualification. There are currently 33 professionals — with an average age of 38 — on the technical inspections team, one for each company Plant Unit.
