SoCal Edison to spend $50M in pole drone inspection services

Southern California Edison says it plans to spend an estimated $50 million in drone inspection services over the next three years to ensure that nearly 160,000 of its electricity poles are adequately maintained. The news comes a day after the utility was sued by a second group of families alleging that a “negligent reckless, and willful failure” to maintain electrical equipment led to the outbreak of the destructive Fairview Fire last month.

The drone services contract, easily one of the largest in the world, has been awarded to two companies, one of which is Maryland-based MissionGO.

Typically, MissionGO is in the news for the transportation of human organs via drones. In 2021, the company made history by carrying a set of transplant lungs to a hospital in Canada, but the drone services provider has also been conducting pole inspection trials for Southern California Edison since 2019.

During this time, MissionGO performed over 6,500 sorties and…