Politically speaking, the transmission arm of the value-chain in the power sector is saddled with the responsibility to wheel generated electric power from the generating stations to the distribution companies for onward delivery to retail users.

In order to accomplish this assignment, the transmission company has ownership of all the high tension 330kV and 132kV lines that cover hundreds of kilometers as well as numerous substations with various equipment that they use to carry out this important task.

Presently, there are over eighty 330kV lines and more than one hundred 132kV lines across the national grid that the transmission company uses to wheel electric power from the generating plants to the distribution companies.

The transmission company ensures that these lines are healthy by deploying their linesmen to go on routine patrol of the lines to clear vegetation and every encumbrance that could foul them. These personnel could be either “cold or hot linesmen” who are specially trained to detect faults and repair them. 

The difference between both is that the cold linesmen work on lines that are not alive or in service while the hot lines men, also known as live linesmen, are trained to approach high tension lines while they are alive or in service. Also, whenever these lines trip or go out on fault, the lines men go on patrol of the lines so as to detect the cause of the fault and clear them for the restoration of normal power supply.

In the pre-privatization years, the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) owned its own helicopter that it deployed for aerial patrol to complement ground patrol of these lines. The combined use of ground and air patrol of lines enhances efficiency by reducing outage downtime and quick restoration of faulty lines.

Due to the benefits of aerial patrol, this is to urge the transmission company to resume this lofty practice of using both aerial and ground patrol of their lines in order to boost its service delivery. 

If the cost of owning and maintaining its own fleet is prohibitive, the company can enter into partnership with privately-operated commercial helicopter outfits to make their services available when needed for scheduled jobs or during fault detection exercises. This practice will also contribute to the safety of our forests as inhabitants of such environments can communicate with the crew in case of emergencies or security breaches.

Since the benefits of resuming aerial patrol of these transmission lines that traverses all nook and cranny of our country are enormous, its operation should be restored as soon as feasible.