Cyberhawk supports national utility’s innovation and environmental commitments
Cyberhawk, the global leader in drone-based inspection and creator of iHawk, a cloud-based asset visualization software, has secured a Master Service Agreement with SP Energy Networks, a distribution and transmission network operator for Central Scotland, North Wales, and North England, helping the utility maintain a safe and resilient electricity supply to its customers.
The agreement, which was secured through a competitive tender process and is in place until the end of 2022, will see Cyberhawk support SP Energy Networks by delivering drone-based inspection services across the utility’s 2,400 towers and electricity transmission structures.
Leveraging over a decade of experience in drone inspection in the global power generation sector, Cyberhawk is able to support one of utility’s biggest challenges outlined in its strategy; managing an ageing network and reducing the number of power cuts to deliver an uninterrupted service.
Cyberhawk has delivered the next level of quality in inspection data collection and management to SP Energy Networks to date, providing a robust approach to defect identification to mitigate faults and prevent power cuts, maintenance planning, and the tracking of remedial actions.
In addition, Cyberhawk has supported the utility in meeting targets to minimise the environmental impact of its inspection activities. As a result of adopting drone-based inspection services, SP Energy Networks has been able to reduce its use of helicopters for visual inspection, which are significant sources of air pollution, and as a result it has been able to reduce emissions.
Chris Fleming, Cyberhawk CEO, said: “By partnering with Cyberhawk, SP Energy Networks has chosen a more environmentally conscious solution for inspecting its electrical network and structures, supporting its commitment to significant emissions reductions, while returning more accurate results through our state-of-the-art drone inspection technology and iHawk software.
“This has also assisted SP Energy Networks in maintaining critical inspection services throughout the coronavirus pandemic, helping to keep the lights on for millions of customers in the UK and ensuring safe operations across its network.”
Pearse Murray, Transmission Director for SP Energy Networks, said: “It’s a massive undertaking to complete the regular inspection of the many towers on our transmission network but the drone technology represents a significant step forward for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, it’s hugely beneficial for the environment and the imagery we obtain is of a high standard due to the flexibility of the drones in assessing tower conditions, meaning we can make even more informed decisions.
“Following the successful trial, we also realised that the drones dramatically minimise the impacts on landowners and make it much easier to arrange access to land when we require it.”
About Cyberhawk
With several offices around the globe including the US and UK, Cyberhawk is the world leader in visual asset and project management using drones and its in-house developed software, iHawk. With over 35 world firsts to its name, industry-pioneer Cyberhawk conducts close visual and thermal inspections of industrial assets both on- and off-shore such as flares, wind turbines and electricity pylons. Results are delivered through its innovative, data-agnostic, visualization software iHawk, seamlessly linking geospatial, IoT and third-party data to deliver an intuitive and compelling user experience. For more information visit: https://thecyberhawk.com/
About SP Energy Networks
As a distribution and transmission network operator SP Energy Networks (SPEN) keeps electricity flowing to over 6m customers across 3.5m homes and businesses throughout Central & Southern Scotland and Merseyside, Cheshire, North & Mid-Wales and North Shropshire. We do this through our network of over 110,000km of power cables and 30,000 substations across our licence areas and we are investing approximately £7 billion into the electricity network to create a better future, quicker for our customers and communities.
