LiDAR Services Deploys LiDAR System to Northeast US for Major Electric Utility Thermal Rating/Vegetation Management Project
October 10, 2013 – Las Vegas, Nevada – LiDAR Services, LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada, the wholly owned US subsidiary of LiDAR Services International, Calgary, Alberta, is mobilizing to commence work on a contract for aerial LiDAR surveys of existing transmission lines for thermal rating, NERC compliance and vegetation management for a large electrical utility.
The award was with an engineering company for a NERC compliance LiDAR survey for a utility in the northeast part of the USA. LiDAR Services will perform the airborne and ground survey services utilizing a Bell 206B helicopter platform for the survey of 850 miles of 69 to 345 kV existing transmission lines to provide PLS-CADD Models, Imagery, Thermal Rating and Vegetation Management deliverables.
On March 21, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved Reliability Standard FAC-003-2, submitted by NERC which goes into effect in July 2014. Reliability Standard FAC-003-2 has a number of features that make it an improvement over the Version 1 standard. For the first time, FAC-003-2 requires transmission owners to annually inspect all transmission lines subject to the standard and to complete 100 percent of their annual vegetation work plan.
“We are extremely pleased with the award of this project,” said Dan Phillips, Chief Business Officer with LiDAR Services, LLC. “Since opening our US subsidiary on July 28, 2011, LiDAR Services, LLC has completed and delivered on a number of NERC related LiDAR and imagery surveys for US based electrical utility companies.”
“For the past few years, most utility LiDAR activity has been focused on satisfying FAC- 008 regulating facility ratings and not FAC- 003 which deals with vegetation management,” said Phillips. “LiDAR surveys for facility rating are much more labor intensive and require much higher LiDAR point densities and collection of other data, driving up the level of complexity and costs. However, once the LiDAR survey for facility thermal rating has been done, creating an accurate baseline, follow-on surveys for vegetation management can be much easier and economical.”
LiDAR Services’ airborne LiDAR/Imaging systems have been providing many different mapping and data collection services for the electrical utility industry, from preliminary route mapping, environmental evaluation, and vegetation management to as-built transmission line facilities since 2002. The mapping for each of these project styles has unique requirements, analysis and deliverables. They are addressed by LIDAR Services in-house expertise to develop proprietary solutions to provide one stop project services from data collection and analysis through to transmission line re-rating, thermal rating and vegetation analysis.
About LiDAR Services, LLC:
LiDAR Services, LLC is a global leader in airborne LiDAR services, performing engineering level LiDAR surveys across the globe from the high-Arctic to the jungles of Borneo. LiDAR Services, LLC operates two helicopter-based LiDAR systems and one fixed-wing system. What differentiates LiDAR Services, LLC from other mapping companies is their single-minded commitment to their client’s project, their unequalled experience, knowledge, technical expertise, innovation and customized survey solutions and services. For more information contact Roland Mangold at 720-934-2482 or roland.mangold@lidarservices.com