BERLIN — Unseasonable weather so far in April has put the semi-annual inspection of the power lines slightly behind schedule.
Eversource has been using a helicopter to inspect vegetation along its high voltage power lines since March 30. They are planning on finishing the inspection during the week of April 10. Flights will resume again some in the fall.
The company says the survey will help them increase reliability of the power grid and cover more than 800 miles of power lines. An inspection from the ground would take months.
The company said the helicopter, with the tail registration N1431W, will be flying if weather permits between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. At times, it may fly as low as 100 feet above the lines, looking for encroaching vegetation that could cause problems leading to an outage. In the past, concerned residents have contacted authorities about the helicopter, so the company publicizes the flights.
The flights originate in Wallingford and will cover power lines in the Andover, Beacon Falls, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bozrah, Branford, Bristol, Brookfield, Brooklyn, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Chester, Columbia, Coventry, Danbury, Darien, Deep River, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hartford, East Haven, East Lyme, East Windsor, Ellington, Essex, Farmington, Franklin, Glastonbury, Granby, Greenwich, Guilford, Haddam, Hamden, Hampton, Hartford, Harwinton, Hebron, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Litchfield, Lyme, Manchester, Mansfield, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Milford, Monroe, Montville, Naugatuck, New Hartford, New Milford, Newington, Newtown, North Branford, North Stonington, Norwalk, Old Saybrook, Orange, Oxford, Plymouth, Pomfret, Portland, Putnam, Redding, Ridgefield, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salisbury, Shelton, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southington, Stamford, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Wallingford, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, Westport, Wethersfield, Wilton, Windham, Windsor, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, Darien, Greenwich, Norwalk, Stamford, and Westport.