116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
See a low-flying helicopter? It’s probably inspecting our energy infrastructure.
ITC Midwest will conduct aerial patrols of its transmission infrastructure from Oct. 10 to Oct. 28, weather permitting
Oct. 6, 2022 12:27 pm, Updated: Dec. 1, 2022 8:26 am
If you see a low-flying helicopter within the next few weeks, don’t be alarmed: It’s probably ITC Midwest inspecting some of its energy infrastructure.
ITC Midwest is a company headquartered in Cedar Rapids that operates more than 6,600 circuit miles of transmission lines — which carry energy across the power grid — in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri.
The company will be conducting aerial patrols of its transmission structures and lines from Oct. 10 to Oct. 28, weather permitting, it said in a Thursday news release. The inspection flights are required by the North American Electrical Reliability Corporation, a not-for-profit authority that helps regulate the power grid.
Areas in Iowa where flights will be conducted
● South zone: Iowa cities include Beacon, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, DeWitt, Eddyville, Fort Madison, Iowa City, Keokuk, Marion, Ottumwa and Palo. Iowa counties include Appanoose, Cedar, Clinton, Davis, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Henry, Lee, Linn, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Poweshiek and Wapello.
● Central zone: Iowa cities include Ames, Ankeny, Boone, Dysart, Gladbrook, Iowa Falls, Marengo, Marshalltown, Newton, Perry and Vinton. Iowa counties include Adair, Cass, Benton, Boone, Dallas, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hardin, Iowa, Jasper, Louisa, Marshall, Polk, Story and Tama.
● North Zone: Iowa cities include Asbury, Dubuque, Independence, Key West, Lansing and Mason City.
The crews will specifically inspect steel structures, wood poles, conductors and insulators among other equipment, ITC Midwest said. They’ll also check for damaged or worn equipment and vegetation hazards.
The flights may be conducted at low altitudes so crews can accurately inspect the equipment.
“This is normal procedure, so there is no cause for alarm if a low-flying helicopter is sighted near transmission lines during the time frame,” the company said in the news release.
Brittney J. Miller is an environmental reporter for The Gazette and a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.
Comments: (319) 398-8370; brittney.miller@thegazette.com
A helicopter lowers a insulator string to workers as they replace conductor cable along a 4.2 mile stretch of Central Iowa Power Co. power line on Feb. 1, 2012, in southeast Cedar Rapids. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
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