Our annual aerial inspection program provides a bird’s eye view of our network and allows us to identify faults, potential defects and trees that are too close and causing a risk to our network. Aerial patrols are an important part of our overall network maintenance program and bushfire mitigation strategy.
2026 aerial inspection program
This year our aerial inspections program ran from 26 February to 5 April 2026.
We inspected around 1,500 km of overhead powerlines using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to measure the distance between powerlines and nearby vegetation.
As part of our annual bushfire preparedness program, these aerial inspections completed 12% of our total network inspections, helping us identify and reduce vegetation risks ahead of the bushfire season.
Our aerial inspections program runs annually and will resume in early 2027.
Where we flew
The suburbs we flew over included:
Aranda, Acton, Ainslie, Barton, Beard, Belconnen, Bonython, Bruce, Campbell, Canberra Airport, Chapman, Charnwood, Chifley, Chisholm, Conder, Cook, Crace, Curtin, Deakin, Denman Prospect, Dickson, Downer, Duffy, Dunlop, Evatt, Fadden, Farrer, Fisher, Florey, Flynn, Franklin, Fraser, Fyshwick, Garran, Gilmore, Giralang, Gordon, Gowrie, Greenway, Griffith, Hackett, Hall, Harrison, Hawker, Higgins, Holder, Holt, Hughes, Hume, Hume, Isaacs, Isabella Plains, Jacka, Kaleen, Kambah, Kingston, Latham, Lawson, Lyneham, Lyons, Macarthur, Macgregor, Macnamara, Macquarie, Mawson, Mckellar, Melba, Mitchell, Molonglo, Monash, Narrabundah, Ngunnawal, Nicholls, Oaks Estate, O'connor, O'malley, Oxley, Page, Pearce, Phillip, Pialligo, Red Hill, Richardson, Rivett, Russell, Scullin, Spence, Stirling, Strathnairn, Symonston, Tharwa, Theodore, Torrens, Turner, Uriarra Village, Wanniassa, Waramanga, Watson, Watson, Weetangera, Weston, Whitlam and Yarralumla.
What we do after the inspections:
Vegetation management work is prioritised on a scale from immediate response to reactively clear to no action required/monitor. Using the information gathered from our patrols, we prioritised vegetation trimming in this way to ensure the continued safety and reliability of our network.
In September, we reinspected around 6% of the powerlines inspected between February and April to ensure the cleared vegetation remained at a safe distance.
Check trees in your backyard:
In the ACT, homeowners and occupiers are responsible for keeping trees clear of powerlines on their property. You don’t have to wait for us to send you a notification to trim your trees – we recommend you proactively monitor the trees on your property to check they’re not too close to powerlines, or if they might be getting close. For more information on vegetation management in the ACT, see our Trees and Powerlines page.
An example of the LiDAR images the aircraft takes. The purple lines indicate our powerlines, and the green areas are trees.