Installation idea takes flight

A Michels Corporation power transmission lines crew is working with an East Coast customer to develop a standard installation procedure for bird diverters on electrical transmission towers. The diverters discourage birds from perching and nesting on the towers, reducing outages to tens of thousands of customers caused by nesting material and droppings that can create faults on the line.

Bird diverters are fairly common in some areas, yet Michels crew stood out for developing several time-saving recommendations, including an installation method that can be performed while the line remains energized, helping with the reliability of the power grid.