Xcel Energy tests drones for power line inspections in Colorado

Xcel Energy tested drone technology in Colorado with the goal of speeding up restoration times when lines have been deactivated because of fire danger. 

The technology is designed for customers in the high country. Xcel told CBS Colorado that it can power up a drone and use it to inspect the lines to determine whether it's safe to turn them back on. 

"It just allows us to eliminate the mobilization time of getting a lineman or a truck up to the site and allows us to immediately start inspecting as soon as we get notification of an outage," said Zach Roach, UAS Program Manager for Xcel Energy.

Xcel said the drones would allow crews to restore power 10 to 20 times more quickly than they otherwise would be able to.