If I was the power distribution owner I would not trust the drone meters. Probably would need some type of load profiling on the distribution side, then all the drone has to do is authenticate a valid customer id for billing.
> If I was the power distribution owner I would not trust the drone meters.
Understandable.
> then all the drone has to do is authenticate a valid customer id for billing
I mean you can ask for anything, but how do you police it? If the drone is by a recognisable entity doing legitimate things sure you can fine them if they don’t comply. But what do you do with literal fly-by-night operators?
How so?
There are 120,000 miles of transmission lines in the USA. Not all of that is overhead high voltage, but the system is still vast. Where do you put the net?
The problem has three prongs:
Detection: there is so much line, and much of it is away from regular eyes. Intermittent-moving threat: Imagine you get a report about a drone perching on your wires. You schedule and dispatch a team to deal with it. Most likely by the time they arrive on site the drone is gone. They are playing a catchup game with moving threats. Action: okay, you got a drone in sight. Either because it didn’t move away, or because you got lucky. What do you do? Mind you the lines are really high and poking things near them can be hazardous if not done correctly. So it is not just any Harry and Dick who can deal with the drone, you need someone trained and with the right equipment.
