ComEd's pilot program uses drones, AI to search for damaged power poles

ComEd's new pilot program is helping to check for damaged utility poles with the help of drones and artificial intelligence. 

The program was launched last year and is said to be beneficial, especially for areas with poles that are hard to access, including Lansing, where an entire substation lost power in the storm that hit two weeks ago.

"It will help reduce the number of poles coming down during storms," Jim Ortega said. 

Jim Ortega and Dale Player with ComEd, who stood nearby brand-new utility poles, ready to go, say the drone technology is making it much easier to address problem poles.

"This unlocks a huge amount of access to our system more effectively and cost-effectively," Player said.

They say they're the first to do something like this.

"Analytics actually increases the effectiveness of our pole replacements by two times," Ortega said. 

First they gather images, then put them into an AI system they built for evaluation. So far, they've checked 1500 poles this way. There are 1.3 million in ComEd's network.

They said they're figuring out how to scale this work, with plans to continue the program.

ComEd operates on a 10-year inspection cycle, meaning every utility pole is checked within 10 years. 

Earlier this month, a ComEd pole fell, lighting a fire on its own in a parking lot and torched several cars.

"It's hard to overstate how dangerous it was and how tragic it could have been," Tom Garritano said.

ComEd says they're still investigating that incident and the poles in the area.

"We are doing some deep forensics on that," Player said. 

He says this does allow the utility company to be more proactive.

"Identifying any equipment that might need attention," he said.

While still in its pilot phase, ComEd plans to scale this in the future.