Abstract
Over the past decade, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have emerged as pivotal tools in fault localization inspections and scheduled assessments of overhead power lines. Driven by technology advancements and the promise of safer and more efficient inspections, the adoption of UAS among electrical grid operators has witnessed significant growth. This paper examines the associated operational aspects through structured interviews with six major grid operators in Norway. The study delves into current operational approaches, applications, data handling practices, and prospective developments of aerial drone usage. Based on the interviews, we identify key challenges that hinder the widespread adoption of drone technology in grid inspection. These challenges include the efficient distribution and planning of inspection platforms, ensuring the acquisition of consistently repeatable and comparable datasets, and the need for a fully autonomous data collection and analysis pipeline tailored for electrical grid inspections. The potential of autonomous drones to facilitate repeatable data collection campaigns, coupled with automated data analysis solutions like image recognition software, is highly desirable among respondents, offering the promise of significant cost reduction. Associated societal benefits, e.g., efficiently ensuring the reliability of ageing infrastructure, underscore the importance of further exploring and using drone technology in grid inspection programs.