• The air patrols shall cover electric power distribution trunk lines of 34 districts in the Metropolitan Region, for the purpose of obtaining accurate information in order to identify potential points requiring attention.
• The initiative –which forms part of the company’s Winter Plan- has been informed to authorities.  The flights shall take place at a permitted elevation, at low speed, and for a short time period at each location, so as not to affect the neighbor’s privacy. That is why they are duly authorized by the DGAC.

Santiago, February 20^th, 2019 – For the purpose of detecting sensitive points in Enel Distribución  electric power system, so as to anticipate and prevent potential service breakdowns, a helicopter, especially conditioned with cutting edge technology is inspecting a total of 1,600 kilometers of high and medium voltage power line grids, corresponding to 34 districts in the Metropolitan Region.

The helicopter allows reaching high levels of efficiency, since by covering 1,600 kilometers by air optimizes the time of 40 weeks which it took by foot. This technology reduces the time involved to five working weeks.

The helicopter in charge of patrolling the lines has incorporated three types of technologies to its fuselage, in terms of high resolution cameras, thermal imaging cameras and LIDAR technology, capable of scanning the infrastructure at a rate of 500,000 points per second.

The initiative has already been informed to the authorities.  The flights shall take place at a permitted altitude, at low speed, and for a very short time period at each location, so as not to affect the neighbor’s privacy.  For this reason they have been duly authorized by the DGAC.

The flights shall begin today, February 20^th, including approximately 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon, at an average speed of 40 Km/h in order to achieve a diagnosis and later maintenance of the electric power grid, contributing to the improvement of the company’s service.

“This activity is part of Enel Distribución Winter Plan, that includes a series of preventive measures for the purpose of mitigating the impact and reducing the duration of the possible power outages under contingency situations”, explained Ramón Castañeda, Enel Distribución CEO.

Advanced Technology

For inspection tasks, thermo graphic technology, laser technology (LIDAR), and high definition photographs are used, which allow to quickly and effectively detect points in the grid and distribution infrastructure with high temperatures, or power transmission with visible damages and elements very close to electric power grids, such as tree branches or other types of objects that could come in contact with the grid producing short circuits. All the above, when detected in time, enables preventive work, thus favoring the quality of service to our customers.

Information channels

During the weeks when the aerial inspection will be taking place, customers will have access to all of the necessary information (districts, days) about where the helicopter will be flying.  For this, they may consult the company's contact channels, such as Fono Servicio (600 696 0000), the website www.enel.cl, twitter account @EnelClientesCL, and Facebook page "EnelChile", which formally register all the requirements in order to receive service.