SOUTHWEST August 8, 2013 Merrick & Company (www.merrick.com), with HDR, were provided notice to proceed on the second phase of a multi-year contract to provide additional transmission line LiDAR surveying services and modeling for up to 3,500 miles of 100kV and above circuits, spanning four States including Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Nebraska.
To perform the aerial survey, Merrick utilizes helicopter-mounted multi-sensor systems (LiDAR sensor, nadir RGB camera, forward and aft oblique digital cameras, full motion video and meteorological sensor) that provide greater accuracy in capturing the details of such issues in transmission corridors as power line sag, encroachment of vegetation, and structure information some of the many components of in-field condition and clearance assessments. In addition, the ability of helicopters to tightly maneuver over transmission corridors, regardless of terrain, provides a cost-effective and speedier method of collecting the data versus traditional land surveying or fixed-wing aircraft data collection.
The aerial survey effort is contracted by Tri-State Generation and Transmission to meet NERC Reliability Standards and complies with their plan to address potential in-field clearance concerns conveyed by NERC in a NERC Alert issued to transmission owners and operators.