NSTAR To Conduct Helicopter Inspections

To help ensure the reliability of the region’s transmission system, NSTAR will begin its annual summer helicopter inspections of the electrical equipment on local rights-of-way on today, July 23. Weather-permitting, the inspections should be completed by the end of the week.

“Residents and businesses depend on reliable electric service to power their day-to-day lives,” said Werner Schweiger, NSTAR President in a press release. “Our annual helicopter inspections of the transmission lines in Eastern Massachusetts are a critical part of NSTAR’s commitment to providing that reliable service.”

Infrared scanning equipment will be used during the inspection of all electric transmission facilities for which NSTAR is responsible in Eastern Massachusetts. This equipment helps engineers detect possible problems before they become visible to the naked eye, allowing them to schedule any necessary corrections before reliability issues arise. Unlike the inspections NSTAR performed earlier this year, the current work will not require the helicopter to hover over transmission equipment for any length of time.

Current plans call for the helicopter inspections to begin in NSTAR’s northern service area on Monday and Tuesday in an area including Walpole to MetroWest, up to Waltham and Lexington, and down to the South Shore.

NSTAR is the largest Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility. The company transmits and delivers electricity and natural gas to 1.4 million customers in Eastern and Central Massachusetts, including more than one million electric customers in 81 communities and 300,000 gas customers in 51 communities.