PECO inspecting 39,000 poles

PECO Wood Pole Inspections will assess 387,000 utility poles with visual exams, internal sampling, and base excavation to detect decay, support preventative maintenance, reduce outages, enhance grid reliability, and protect customers and crews.

PECO will inspect more than 39,000 utility poles located across its service territory this year as part of the company’s maintenance and reliability improvement program.

PECO is investing $1.1 million to perform the inspections, as part of broader reliability enhancements underway across its system, which will continue through the spring.

Inspections, which will be performed by an independent contractor, include a visual examination of poles and the electrical equipment attached, similar to BC Hydro pole replacements underway in other regions, and taking samples from the poles interior and excavating around the base to check for decay. Necessary repairs and replacements are performed based on the inspection results.

After completing a 10-year inspection cycle last year, PECO is starting another 10-year cycle of wood pole inspections this year, while also advancing a new Philadelphia substation project to strengthen the grid. Over the course of this cycle, PECO will inspect more than 387,000 poles across the region.

“Continuous monitoring, inspection, repair and replacement of equipment on our electric system, alongside proactive tree maintenance initiatives, is crucial to ensuring that our customers receive the safe and reliable service they expect and deserve,” said John McDonald, vice president of Technical Services.

“Preventative maintenance programs, such as our pole inspection initiative, help to reduce the frequency and duration of outages, and, informed by line-burying decisions where appropriate, improve the performance of our entire system, and keep our customers and crews safe.”

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