Sydney powerlines untangled using drone with hook

Electricity provider Ausgrid says a drone with a 3D-printed “hook” was recently used to untangle 800 metres of twisted powerlines in a remote and inaccessible part of the electricity network in Sydney’s north.

The twisted wires were caused by strong winds and discovered during a routine tower inspection in a large valley between Davidson and St Ives, and Ausgrid claimed the process of using a drone to untangle the wires was a “world first”.

The company partnered with drone technology company Infravision, whose clients also include other electricity providers PNG Power, TransGrid and Evoenergy.

“While the tangled wires weren’t immediately affecting power supply, the friction between the two wires would have eventually severed them, potentially cutting power to 70,000 customers,” Kelly Wood, Ausgrid’s executive general manager of network delivery services,