SaskPower is sending out its plans to inspect almost 120,000 wood power poles between May and October as part of its annual maintenance program.
Crews will also test around 10,000 overhead rural transformers while installing 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.”
During the work, crews will be inspecting for signs of damage, decay, or carpenter ant infestation while extending the life of the poles through maintenance activities.
Sask Power will mark any pole for replacement that cannot be repaired or reinforced. SaskPower says they will not need to have any power outages due to the work.
Crews may need to occasionally access private property, but they will mainly stay in the SaskPower right-of-way.
The inspection schedule is as follows:
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
SaskPower has more details on their upcoming inspections available on their website.