NPYA gets funding to launch its $37M in-house drone operation

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) ­has announced the financial approval of its five-year, 37.2 million drone program that will build on the utility’s accumulating experience in deploying UAVs for inspection, safety, and other continuing operational activities.

The NYPA, the largest state public power utility in the US, said the initial tranche of financing for the project had been authorized by New York authorities. That will allow it to begin assembling a large, in-house fleet of drones and other craft with the objective of introducing “new inspection capabilities over the next five years,” and establish the organization as “an industry leader in robotic initiatives.”

NYPA has been gradually increasing its use of drones as part of its infrastructure inspection and maintenance work for over half a decade now, with the new program marking the definitive transition from a more piecemeal approach to a fixed, integrated UAV…