Our annual aerial inspection program provides a bird’s eye view of our network and allows us to identify faults, potential defects and trees that are too close and causing a risk to our network.
Aircraft patrols are an important part of our overall network maintenance program and bushfire mitigation strategy.
Wrap up of the 2025 aerial inspection program:
The 2025 program ran across February and March, inspecting around 760 kilometres of Transmission lines, High Voltage and Bushfire prone areas that encompass the electricity network.
This year, we captured this data by using both a fixed wing aircraft and a helicopter - fitted with Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology which determined the distance between powerlines and trees.
What we do after the inspections:
Vegetation management work is prioritised on a scale from immediate response to reactively clear to no action required/monitor. Using the information gathered from our patrols, we will prioritise vegetation trimming in this way to ensure the continued safety and reliability of our network.
Check trees in your yard:
In the ACT, homeowners and occupiers are responsible for keeping trees clear of powerlines on their property. You don’t have to wait for us to send you a notification to trim your trees – we recommend you check trees on your property to check they’re not too close to powerlines, or if they might be getting close. For more information on vegetation management in the ACT, see our Trees and Powerlines page.
An example of the LiDAR images the aircraft takes. The purple lines indicate our powerlines, and the green areas are trees.