Aerial Saw to Trim Along More Than 230 Miles of Transmission Lines

Electric utility company Mon Power is deploying a helicopter equipped with a saw to keep overgrown trees away from more than 230 miles of power lines in West Virginia. The aerial saw configuration can be used in areas that are typically inaccessible to ground crews.

Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corporation, serves nearly 395,000 customers across West Virginia. In this, it completes more than 4,000 miles of tree-trimming operations per year. While tedious, keeping overgrowth away from power lines helps to minimize tree-related power outages during storm seasons and gives personnel easier access for routine inspections, maintenance, and repairs.

However, hundreds of miles of transmission lines are incompatible with the typical bucket trucks or other ground vehicles. Whether this be due to an environmental concern or general inaccessibility, Mon Power needed to find another way.

The West Virginian company decided to mount a boom beneath the helicopter. On it, an ‘aerial saw’ holds multiple 24-inch rotary blades. It cleanly cuts off branches and, with the help of the rotor’s downwash, forces them to the ground. These are picked up by ground crews if they happen to land on roads, yards, agricultural fields, or streams.

This method is not only almost 7 times faster than the average ground crew operation, but also much safer by keeping workers a good distance from high-voltage equipment.

“Keeping our high-voltage power lines clear of potential interference is an important part of maintaining system reliability, and the aerial saw allows us to cover hundreds of transmission miles every year in a safe, efficient manner,” Jim Myers, President of Mon Power.

The saw-equipped helicopter will be performing work through the end of 2025. It is expected to clear more than 230 miles of growth along high-voltage power lines in the West Virginia service areas, including Berkeley, Doddridge, Hampshire, Harrison, Jefferson, and 14 other counties.

FMI: www.firstenergycorp.com