Oklahoma City, Okla. March 7, 2018 – ITC will conduct aerial patrols of high-voltage transmission towers and lines in southeast Oklahoma on the afternoon of Thursday, March 8 or the morning of Friday March 9, weather permitting. The helicopter patrols are conducted to provide an overall status of the overhead transmission lines owned and operated by ITC Great Plains, LLC.
The aerial inspections in southeast Oklahoma will cover an area ranging approximately 18 miles from Fort Towson in Choctaw County to near Millerton in McCurtain County.
These patrols are a North American Electrical Reliability Corporation (NERC) requirement for ITC’s vegetation management program, support proactive maintenance objectives, and are in line with the company’s model for operational excellence. They include inspections of steel towers, wood poles, conductors (wires), insulators and other equipment. Crews check for damaged or worn equipment and vegetation hazards.
The inspection flights are often conducted at low altitudes to allow accurate visual inspection of equipment and are normal procedures, so there is no cause for alarm if a low-flying helicopter is sighted near transmission lines.
About ITC Great Plains
ITC Great Plains, LLC is a transmission-only utility operating in the Southwest Power Pool region. The company operates approximately 470 circuit miles of transmission lines in Kansas and Oklahoma. ITC Great Plains maintains regional offices in Dodge City, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. ITC Great Plains is a subsidiary of ITC Grid Development, LLC, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electric transmission company. For further information visit WWW.ITC-HOLDINGS.COM. ITC is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. For further information visit WWW.FORTISINC.COM.
Media Contact: Elizabeth Hunt, APR (918.277.4868 | EHUNT@ITCTRANSCO.COM)
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