XUZHOU,China, Sept. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, the operation and maintenance personnel of State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company conducted a comprehensive clearance operation targeting super-tall trees beneath the No. 1–3 and No. 4–5 conductors of the 220-kilovolt Qingni 2W78 line, based on the risk level results from the “Tree Obstacle Digital Archive.”
Prior to the operation, the personnel accurately identified the locations of trees under the power lines using the power transmission visualization system and deployed drones to perform rapid on-site verification. During the operation, while maintaining a safe distance, the maintenance team carried out standardized tree-felling procedures and utilized a laser foreign object removal device to precisely trim overgrown branches, thereby enhancing both operational safety and efficiency.
During the summer months, when rainfall is abundant and vegetation grows rapidly, conflicts between tree growth and overhead power lines become a significant threat to grid safety. In the face of a large number of tree-related hazards, the traditional manual inspection method is not only inefficient but also costly. Under this approach, field personnel must visit sites in person, visually estimate or use distance meters to measure the distance between trees and conductors, and then propose solutions based on their experience and observations of tree growth.
To address this challenge, State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company has actively adopted technological innovations by applying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) laser point cloud scanning technology to establish a new model for managing tree-line hazards. For key sections with dense tree obstacles, drones equipped with laser pan-tilt units are used to collect detailed tree data, enabling the construction of precise 3D models and the calculation of accurate clearance distances between trees and power lines.
“Drone-based laser point cloud scanning is akin to conducting a high-precision ‘CT scan’ of the power corridor,” explained Yang Tengteng, a full-time staff member responsible for transmission line operation and maintenance management in the Equipment Department of State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company. “This method enables the accurate capture of key data such as tree coordinates, quantity, and height, forming a comprehensive ‘Digital Archive of Tree Obstacles.’ The system also automatically classifies risk levels into three categories—general, serious, and urgent—based on predefined safety thresholds, thereby providing data-driven support for the scientific planning and efficient execution of tree obstacle management strategies.”
By leveraging drone laser point cloud technology to create digital records of tree obstacles, inspection efficiency has improved by 50% compared to traditional methods. Additionally, the measurement error for tree-to-line distances has been reduced to the centimeter level, significantly enhancing the accuracy of hazard identification. To date, the company has collected data from 283 suspected tree-obstructed sections using this technology and identified 33 serious tree-line hazards, all of which have been fully addressed through a closed-loop rectification process.
