Central Maine Power recently flew drones over Raymond to inspect power lines, and plans on doing similar flyovers for New Gloucester, among other Lakes Region communities, in the coming weeks.

According to a press release, CMP, a subsidiary of Avangrid, has partnered with Firmatek to use advanced technology to survey 24,000 miles of lines in order to detect utility equipment issues more quickly. The project began earlier this year with assessments of power lines in Portland, Brunswick and Rockland, with plans to cover more inland areas over the summer.

Dustin Wlodkowski, a spokesperson for CMP, said the company has previously used drones on a routine basis to survey equipment and get above wires for a look at how reliable its equipment is. Now for the first time, it’s using AI tools to quickly assess images of more than 24,000 miles worth of power lines, which Wlodkowski said would allow it to detect utility equipment issues more quickly.

Wlodkowski said the inclusion of AI would not completely eliminate the need for human inspectors, but rather complement their work. With the addition of the drones, he said, CMP would end up with a comprehensive database of all its equipment, and would be able to go in and make more precise repairs than would have been possible previously. While AI will allow CMP to assess images more quickly, the company still needs to send crew members out to make updates and repairs, and the company plans to send line crews out to repair damage picked up by the surveys.

“Ultimately, what that’s going to result in is a safer grid for all of our customers, and also make sure the grid is ready for extreme weather,” Wlodkowski said.

Wlodkowski said the surveys would not require the disruption of utility service, and the drones are strictly surveying utility equipment, not private property. Surveys will not include customer attachments at homes or businesses. He said the company will not take photos of the wires that attach people’s homes to the grid.

In addition to the drones, he said some photography would be done through specialized vehicles traveling along the lines.

There have been a few cases where residents have voiced concern about the presence of the drones. Melissa McConkey, assessing administrator for Raymond, said one resident expressed concern about the drones, and came to the town office to make sure that it wasn’t something the town was doing. Since Raymond is in the midst of a town-wide revaluation, town officials wanted to get the word out about Firmatek and make clear that it was not the town using drones as part of the revaluation.

Wlodkowski said CMP planned to cover Naples, Casco and Raymond by the end of the week of July 14-18 and New Gloucester has posted on Facebook about a drone survey the following week.