General News
18 March, 2026
Powercor helicopters scanning powerlines over Avoca
HELICOPTERS are scanning powerlines across the Central Victorian region over the next month, as part of Powercor’s year-round bushfire mitigation and vegetation management program. People in and around Avoca may see and hear the choppers, which fly about 300 metres above the ground and use technology known as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to scan the distance between tree branches and powerlines.
Using the LiDAR data, Powercor teams create 3D models of powerlines and their surroundings, helping to inform what vegetation needs to be cut.
Powercor’s Head of Vegetation Management, Ayce Cordy, said it was important that accurate measurements were taken of all vegetation each and every year.
“Inspecting and managing vegetation growing near powerlines is an essential part of how we keep power safe and reliable for our customers,” Mr Cordy said.
“By capturing data every year, we can track growth rates of vegetation across our network, helping us plan where to cut right now and when we may need to conduct cutting in the future.”
The helicopters started in the area late last week fly Bendigo, Avoca, Maryborough, Castlemaine, Heathcote and Inglewood over the next four weeks.
Each year Powercor uses a fleet of three helicopters to inspect 100 per cent of more than 77,000 kilometres of powerlines across western Victoria.
Powercor’s trained cutting teams can enter private property to cut trees back from powerlines, and also work on public land across the network.
They advise that when urgent cutting is identified, they aren’t always able to provide advance notice.
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