OPD5 to perform aerial inspections this week

Contract crews driving a truck like this will be in certain local neighborhoods later this week to do aerial drone inspections of OPD5 power lines. 

OPD5 contract crews will be conducting a detailed aerial inspection of selected power lines later this week. 

Employees from Firmatek, the contractor hired for the work, will be flying a drone over certain power lines in both Moapa Valley and Mesquite to inspect poles, lines and other equipment. These inspections are a proactive approach to identify potential outage-causing issues and repair them before service is ever impacted.

The aerial inspections are scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 30 and Friday, May 1. 

In Moapa Valley, the work will be conducted in residential sections roughly along the Whitmore Street alignment in Logandale and Overton; and then extending further south along the railroad tracks. In Mesquite, the inspections will take place on an alignment beginning at the OPD5 Mesquite office on Turtleback Road and extending east to the Arizona border.

Customers who reside in these proposed inspection areas may see a white pickup truck with a Firmatek logo parked, or driving slowly, in the neighborhoods as the work is ongoing.  A drone flying along the power lines in these areas may also be seen or heard by area residents. 

An aerial drone like this one will be used to inspect certain OPD5 power lines later on this week.

OPD5 Customer Service Supervisor Kristi Eames emphasized that there is no need for OPD5 customers to be alarmed by these crews or to report this aerial drone activity on these particular days. 

“Normally, if customers witness drones flying close to power lines or above our equipment, we would encourage them to report it to the police immediately,” Eames said. “We appreciate such vigilance from the public because unauthorized and illegal activity like this can pose serious dangers and cause real problems to our system. But in this case, the district has contracted with trained professionals to do this important work. These types of inspections are necessary from time to time to improve reliability for our customers.”

Residents who have questions about these inspection activities are welcome to contact OPD5 staff at 702-397-2512 in Overton; or 702-346-5710 in Mesquite.