Powerco is using low flying helicopters to inspect parts of its rural network in the Bay of Plenty in November.

The work is part of a pole top photography survey, which Powerco has conducted each summer for the last four years.

From November 2022 to February 2023, Powerco will use low-flying helicopters to take high resolution photographs of more than 50,000 power poles, lines and associated hardware on its electricity network across the Bay of Plenty, South Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatū and Wairarapa.

The work in the Bay of Plenty is planned for November 1 – 7, however, this timeframe may be extended in the event of bad weather.

Powerco customer delivery head Mark Hermann says it's an efficient and effective way to carry out network inspections to help deliver a safe and reliable power supply to customers.

'Getting clear, aerial visibility of our network allows us to assess the condition of our assets, check for any potential issues such as vegetation growing into lines, and resolve them before they cause harm or outages.”

The helicopters will only be flying in open air space, above 1,000 feet in urban areas, and above 500 feet in rural areas.

'We work hard to minimise the potential disruption to customers. We strictly follow Civil Aviation Authority regulations and notify customers about the flight paths in advance through a range of online, print and social media advertising as well as direct communication with local stakeholder and community groups.

'We know that low-flying helicopters may unsettle some animals or affect planned events, so we encourage any concerned customers to please contact us, so we can alter our flight plan timings if necessary.”

For more information about the flight areas, or to ask a question or log a concern, visit www.powerco.co.nz/helicopter