Starting this week, NYSEG will begin the inspection of its 4,600 miles of transmission lines and more than 17,000 wood poles for decay and other damage.
This week work will begin on NYSEG transmission rights of way in the company’s Lancaster and Lockport divisions and from Homer City, PA north to the New York State border.
The schedule calls for work to begin in NYSEG’s Elmira, Geneva, Hornell, Ithaca, Binghamton and Oneonta divisions in mid- to late July and in NYSEG’s Liberty, Mechanicville, Brewster and Plattsburgh divisions in late July to mid-August.
In addition to the inspections that will help identify poles in need of repair or replacement, NYSEG contractor Utility Pole Technologies, Inc. will be treating some poles with preservatives to increase their longevity.
The preservatives are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and will be applied under the supervision of licensed applicators.
Any poles infested with carpenter ants also may be treated with an approved insecticide.
“Decaying or insect-damaged poles that are treated last one and a half times longer than untreated poles,” Lynch said. “And since it costs between 50 and 100 times less to treat a pole than to replace it, this work helps us control energy costs in the long run.”
