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Coldwater BPU approves five-year eSmart drone asset-management subscription
Summary
The Coldwater Board of Public Utilities approved a five-year, $248,000 subscription to eSmart, an AI- and drone-based asset-management platform, after a pilot identified safety and reliability issues the city said will help prioritize preventative maintenance.
The City of Coldwater Board of Public Utilities on a voice vote approved a five-year subscription to the eSmart asset-management platform, funding a $248,000 contract meant to scale drone- and AI-assisted inspections of the city’s distribution system.
Andrew Cameron, who presented the pilot results, said Coldwater’s electric system includes about 217 miles of overhead circuits and roughly 7,000 poles — a scope that makes visual inspections labor intensive. He told the board the pilot collected about 4,600 images and the platform distilled those to roughly 400 prioritized, actionable observations for crews to review.
“The proper management of hazardous materials can effectively reduce the threat of contamination to our drinking water supply,” Monica McCallan said earlier in the meeting during a separate presentation; Cameron later drew a similar public-safety link for electrical assets, saying one eSmart image showed a loose secondary conductor carrying live voltage that crews were able to address immediately.
Cameron described how eSmart’s outputs – GPS-tagged images, severity ratings and short write-ups – are integrated into the city’s GIS and work-order system so electric crews can inspect and verify repairs. He also said Coldwater plans to use existing licensed drone operators in the utility to run multiple inspection flights per year.
Board members offered no questions before a motion to approve the subscription was made and carried by voice vote.
The subscription follows a pilot performed by eSmart contractors and a local follow-up self-inspection; staff said the platform is intended to improve preventative maintenance, reduce outage risk from vegetation and equipment failures and provide a standard process for inspections.
