June 24, 2008

Photo by John Stuart

FKEC linemen recently corrected a critical shoe pin problem found by the annual helicopter inspection on a main transmission structure along the 18-Mile Stretch. This structure is difficult to access from the ground, so the linemen had to climb the top of the pole and work together with hot sticks to correct the pin’s position. FKEC linemen from top are: Tim Fincham, Jorge Magdalena and Chris Zischka. Working from the truck are Robert Lovell and Eddie Dudley. Line crew members working from the ground (not pictured) are Ian Laux and Sean Bailey.

FKEC Quickly Repairs Issues Found by Helicopter Inspection

Florida Keys Electric Cooperative quickly completed the system maintenance indicated by its recent annual helicopter inspection.

The most significant find by the helicopter inspection crew was along the 18-Mile Stretch, where they found a shoe pin that had "backed out" of position. Shoe pins attach the cradle-like metal "shoes" that hold the main transmission line to the insulators. The shoe pins are held in place by cotter pins, but the cotter pin holding the failing shoe pin had apparently vibrated free, allowing the shoe pin to back out of position.

"If a shoe pin backs all the way out of the shoe, the transmission line may then also drop, causing a widespread outage," said FKEC Director of Power Supply and Delivery Dennis Minton. "The extent and length of the outage would depend on the load on the line at the time, but a shoe pin failure during high summer load has the potential to cause a voltage collapse that would result in extensive outage times. So this one discovery by the helicopter crew more than pays for the cost of the entire helicopter inspection in what it saved us in potential outages and repair costs."

The inspection also found several areas where power lines were frayed due to lightning strikes. Near both Whale Harbor and off Card Sound Road they found power lines damaged by bullets.

The inspection took place during the first week of June and all critical repairs were completed by FKEC within a week. Less critical issues discovered by the inspection have been added to FKEC’s preventative maintenance schedule.

The annual aerial inspection increases the reliability of our local electric service and ultimately prevents power outages through regular system maintenance.

With 1,300 transmission poles to inspect, FKEC once again hired Haverfield Corporation to perform the inspection and maintenance work from the air to save time, labor and money. Nine miles of the route cross open water, and many of the land-based poles are also located in areas that are difficult to reach from the ground.