AEP Ohio: Drone + AI Inspection Program Identifies 150+ Tier-One Issues from 400,000-500,000 Aerial Images

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AEP Ohio: Drone + AI Inspection Program Identifies 150+ Tier-One Issues from 400,000-500,000 Aerial Images

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American Electric Power (AEP) piloted drone-based inspections across approximately 4% of its Ohio distribution system in 2025, collecting between 400,000 and 500,000 aerial images and identifying more than 150 tier-one equipment issues — including limbs on lines and thermal anomalies detected with infrared sensors — according to Jake Reed, project manager of AEP Ohio's drone program. The utility paired autonomous Skydio drone flights with Levatas computer vision to convert large volumes of imagery into actionable maintenance signals, with post-flight analysis results typically available within three to four minutes. The findings were presented in a Factor This and DTECH webinar sponsored by Skydio and Levatas. Historically, Reed said, traditional inspections captured photos primarily when issues were observed, but the new program captures imagery of every asset inspected. Reviewing all of these manually would have consumed more than 500 hours from a single person over the course of a year, underscoring the case for automated defect recognition. Reed shared examples where AI flagged issues that were not yet causing outages, including overheated jumpers, vegetation contact with equipment, and a pole that appeared suspicious on thermal imaging and was later found to be burning from the inside out. The webinar demonstrated a remote flight conducted from Florida to a drone dock in California and reviewed AI outputs that included thermal anomaly detection and automated readings of analog gauges. Christina Park, Skydio's senior director of energy strategy, framed the discussion around operationalizing drone and AI technology in utility workflows rather than running isolated pilots, while Levatas CEO Chris Nielsen emphasized shortening the time between flight and usable information as a design priority. AEP Ohio is positioning the program as a foundation for scaling inspections with existing staff while reducing field exposure.