Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks is investing an initial sum of £255k in new hand-held technology to help its engineers locate the source of underground cable faults much more quickly, which will in turn minimise the length of power cuts and in some cases even stop them happening altogether.
The new technology, known as TOUCAN, Thermal imaging Of Underground Cable Networks, works on heat-sensitive thermal imagery and is able to 'see' through tarmac and concrete to pick out where parts of the cable network have been damaged, developed a fault and caused a power cut or look like they need repair before they cause the power to go off.
In this short video, Tony Rhodes from SSEN's Thames Valley region shows us one of the new cameras in action, and tells us how it has helped him locate faults more quickly and minimise the disruption to our customers.