MEMPHIS, Tenn. – MLGW is partnering with a drone operator to inspect electrical utility equipment starting Monday, March 13.

The month-long program will fly drones to inspect infrastructure around the Orange Mound and Sherwood Forest neighborhoods. This project is a part of MLGW’s five-year service improvement plan.

According to MLGW, customers in Orange Mound and Sherwood Forest experience the most and longest outages of any customers within Shelby County.

MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen say the images from the drone will help improve reliability in order to reduce power outages.

“The use of drones holds real promise for improving the efficiency of assessing electrical infrastructure. If this trial phase is successful, we may adopt them as part of our regular inspection and repair process,” McGowen said.

A second contractor will be set in place to help identify hazardous trees through satellite photos and computer analysis.

All workers will have MLGW or the drone operator, Precision Hawk, logos on their vehicles or IDs.