National Grid Rolls Out Centralised Autonomous Drone Inspections

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National Grid Rolls Out Centralised Autonomous Drone Inspections

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National Grid has launched the world's first centralised, autonomous aerial inspection capability for electricity infrastructure across its transmission network in England and Wales. The deployment uses sees.ai's drone technology, piloted from a central control room, allowing drones to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) close to live power infrastructure including high-voltage towers (pylons) and conductors (cables). Kathryn Fairhurst, Overhead Line Operations Director at National Grid, explained the operational rationale: 'By handling non-intrusive inspection tasks, this technology enables our highly skilled lineworkers to focus more efficiently on the complex, hands-on work that requires human expertise, and will form an important part of how we continue to manage our assets and deliver a safe and reliable network.' Lord Vallance, UK Science Minister, framed the public-private collaboration: 'Government backing has helped sees.ai develop from early-stage research into a thriving commercial partnership with a major UK company in the National Grid, keeping energy workers safe and demonstrating the benefit of public investment in pilot tech projects.' The technical milestone follows a four-year innovation programme and builds on the UK Civil Aviation Authority's October 2024 policy concept that enabled drones to fly BVLOS at low heights close to infrastructure where there is little or no potential for other aircraft to be operating. The deployment marks the transition from R&D to business-as-usual operations. Sophie O'Sullivan, Director of Future Safety & Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, noted: 'We're working with companies like sees.ai and National Grid to make drone operations beyond visual line of sight a safe and everyday reality.' At scale, the rollout positions National Grid as a global benchmark in digital grid operations. The system increases the speed, efficiency, and consistency of data processing, reduces risk to personnel and helicopters, and frees skilled line workers and helicopter crews to focus on specialist tasks requiring human performance. The deployment supports the UK's energy transition and infrastructure modernisation.