Wake Electric to Conduct Aerial Drone Inspections in August to Improve System Reliability
From August 11 to August 25, Wake Electric will conduct aerial drone inspections across key areas of our service territory. These inspections are part of our ongoing proactive efforts to improve reliability, prevent outages, and modernize how we maintain our infrastructure.
Drones will be surveying overhead lines, poles, and equipment in the following areas:
- South Louisburg area
- Wake Forest area
- Franklinton area
- Rolesville area
- Creedmoor area
We’ve contracted FIRMATEK, a professional drone service provider, to carry out this work. Crews will be in clearly marked Chevrolet trucks with Wake Electric contractor decals, and the company’s logo is orange and white. All drones are FAA registered, and all flights follow federal aviation laws and best practices recommended by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Drones will only capture images of Wake Electric infrastructure (not private residences) and images are used strictly for internal maintenance analysis. For your safety and the safety of our crews, please do not approach or interrupt drone operators during the inspection window.
Wake Electric uses aerial drone technology to proactively inspect and maintain our system more efficiently and accurately than traditional ground-based methods. Wake Electric maintains more than 40,000 wooden utility poles. While they may appear sound from the ground, many issues—like rot, animal damage, or vegetation interference—occur at the top. Thanks to drone inspections, we’ve identified and replaced over 1,600 poles in recent years that might otherwise have failed without warning.
By using drone technology, we can:
- Inspect remote or hard-to-reach areas without accessing private property
- Capture precise, high-resolution data
- Reduce long-term costs and prevent outages
- Keep our system reliable without disruption to your service
If you have any questions about the upcoming aerial inspections, please contact Don Bowman at don.bowman@wemc.com. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding as we continue to invest in tools and technologies that help keep our electric system safe and reliable for all Wake Electric members.