CASE C37 · IN · 2026
KPTCL (Karnataka, India): drone inspection of over 11,000 transmission towers, with a reported drop in outages
India's Karnataka transmission utility says drones with thermal and LiDAR sensors have inspected over 11,000 towers and 3,370 km of line. It reports more than 150,000 defects fixed and outages on inspected corridors falling from 519 to 73. The comparison period is not given, so the drop cannot be credited to drones alone.
| Owner | Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) |
| Provider | — |
| Location | Karnataka, India (HV/EHV corridors in forest, hilly and urban areas) |
| Aircraft | Not stated |
| Sensors | high-resolution RGB camera, thermal infrared, LiDAR |
Before
Manual patrols and visual checks, with maintenance largely reactive to failures.
With drones
Close-range imaging of towers, conductors and insulators, with thermal imaging for hotspots from loose connections; data fed into the asset-management system and repairs were batched into maintenance windows.
Outcomes
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| coverage | over 11,000 towers and over 3,370 km of line inspected (network is about 45,000 km) | Reported |
| defects | more than 150,000 technical defects identified and rectified; over 200 critical defects fixed in five batch maintenance windows | Reported |
| outages on inspected corridors | 519 → 73 incidents (about 85% fewer) | Reported |
| time / cost | "a fraction of the time"; no figures | Company claim |
Caveats & limits
- All figures come from a government/utility statement relayed by a news agency (PTI); no independent verification.
- The comparison period behind 519 → 73 outages is not given, so the drop cannot be attributed to drones alone (repairs, weather and other works may contribute).
- Only about 7% of the network length had been inspected; drone models, operators and costs are not disclosed. The digital-twin link is planned, not operational.
Sources
- KPTCL Deploys Drones for Transmission Line Inspections; Power Outages Drop 85 Per CentOutlook India (PTI) Full text read
Sources checked: 2026-10-22