As a part of its annual maintenance program, SaskPower will be inspecting nearly 120,000 wood poles across the province.
The inspections will happen between May and October.
Also, crews will be testing approximately 10,000 overhead rural transformers and install wildfire protection equipment on 800 poles in high-risk areas in the north.
“Providing reliable power to our customers is a top priority for SaskPower,” said Gregg Milbrandt, SaskPower Vice-President of Asset Strategy and Planning. “With more than 1.2 million wood power poles in Saskatchewan, regular inspections and maintenance are crucial to ensure continued reliability.”
Some of the things crews will be looking for during these inspections include signs of damage, decay and/or carpenter ant infestation while completing maintenance activities to extend the life of the poles.
If a pole cannot be repaired, it will be marked for replacement.
No power outages will be required during the inspections.
Crews will stay in the SaskPower right-of-way as much as possible but may need to occasionally access private property.
The inspection schedule is as follows (dates subject to change): Wood pole inspections • Saskatoon Rural West – May to July
• Shaunavon – May to August
• Assiniboia – May to July
• Melville – Aug to Oct • Rosetown – August
• Lloydminster – Aug to Sept
• Strasbourg – Sept to Oct • Regina South – October
Overhead transformer testing
• Moosomin – May to July
• Davidson – May to July
• Rosthern – May to July
• Wynyard – July to Oct
• Unity – July to Oct
• Shellbrook – July to Oct
• Weyburn – Oct to Nov
Learn more at saskpower.com/woodpoles