Wildlife and Asset Protection: Risks and Solutions

Posted by Midsun IKM on March 14th, 2024

Today, we cannot imagine our lives without electricity; it is not only an important part of our lives but is crucial to the growth of a country’s economy. However, maintaining this flow requires protecting critical infrastructure like overhead lines and substations from various threats, including wildlife interactions. Wildlife interactions can cause power outages, damage to sensitive equipment such as power lines and transformers, and safety concerns for both humans and wildlife. Understanding these risks, recognizing the importance of wildlife and asset protection, and implementing effective solutions are essential steps in ensuring the reliability, safety, and sustainability of power systems.

Risks Associated with Wildlife Interactions 

1. Outages: Possums, birds, squirrels, and larger predators like bees are all capable of causing power outages. Birds can crawl or nest on live wires, resulting in outages, while rodents, rats, and squirrels can chew on insulation and build nests, causing short circuits. While league animals like beer can climb stairs and their accidental contact can cause outages. 

2. Equipment Damage: The other risk associated with wildlife and power outstations is equipment damage, resulting in huge cost losses for utility companies. Rodents like squirrels may confuse the utility pole with a uniform tree and cause significant damage when they climb the sensitive equipment mistaking it for a tree. Squirrels accidentally complete a circuit between a charge wire and a grounded object. The stuck squirrel can act as a barrier to the functioning of the power line, normally leading to blow circuit breakers and resulting in equipment damage and power outages. High Voltage Insulator Coatings can help minimize equipment damage.

3. Ecosystem Effect: The interaction of wildlife with power plants is harmful to both wildlife and utility companies. However, the destruction is not only one-sided; the encroachment of human settlements in wild habitats contributes to the start of the loss of biodiversity. Building utility poles and power lines in forest areas can cause ecosystem fragmentation, resulting in a much greater loss of the integrity of the whole ecosystem. 

Solutions for Wildlife and Asset Protection

1. Insulation and Enclosure: One of the first solutions that aid in protecting sensitive equipment in the power grid is using product solutions such as RTV Silicone Electrical Insulator to insulate and isolate components to mitigate active threats and reduce the risk of outage and the associated risk of wildfire. Using these wildlife-resistant covers, guards, or barriers around critical equipment can prevent animals from accessing electrical components. They help enhance safety and reliability.

2. Develop Avian Protection: Utilities and power companies develop the Aviation Protection Program (APP) to minimize the risk of aviation-related incidents such as collisions and electrocutions when birds come into contact with electrical utility facilities. Most importantly, the APP should be specific to the utility or installation for which it is designed, targeting issues specific to that particular utility or installation. However, consider the fact that migratory birds in particular, and even some resident animals have the habit of returning to the same nest or feeding sites. Reinforce the importance of finding a solution to protect the electricity supply by allowing unhindered supply to residents. 

Midsun IKM, a leading manufacturer of High Voltage Insulating Silicone Grease, animal outage protective covers, and RTV coatings, provides spired perching devices, smooth limbing barriers, electrified fences, high-voltage-insulating silicone grease, and visual deterrents to drive birds or animals away from a specific location. 

3. Vegetation management promotes desirable, stable, low-growing plant communities through appropriate, environmentally sound, safe, and cost-effective control methods. Vegetation management can have a strong impact on the surrounding land by causing wildlife fires, fragmenting wildlife habitats, soil erosion, and water quality issues. These vents can damage the electric power infrastructure, resulting in a costly affair for electric utilities. Both utility companies and surrounding land managers should develop specific goals to tackle the issues in a safe manner that benefits both and protects wildlife. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, safeguarding power infrastructure from wildlife interactions is crucial for ensuring a reliable electricity supply and minimizing environmental impact. By implementing effective solutions such as insulation, avian protection programs, and vegetation management, utilities can mitigate risks and protect both assets and wildlife habitats, ensuring sustainable energy delivery for communities.