Global climate change has substantially altered the climatic areas previously defined for the design of the current electricity transmission network. This implies a greater likelihood that new climatic events could damage the network if it is not properly monitored. Additionally, the need to produce energy from renewable sources requires greater flexibility in transporting the energy itself. In this context, the resilience of the electricity network is a fundamental issue to ensure continuity and safety of service. It is therefore important to conduct proper and effective management of the transmission network by evaluating the condition of components to identify appropriate operational strategies. In particular, one of the parameters to monitor is the distance of overhead high and extra-high voltage lines from the ground.
The research activity described in this report involved analyzing the most common systems based on different technologies for monitoring conductor sag and ice sleeve formation, highlighting the main advantages and disadvantages. Following this analysis, it was decided that optical systems provide a decisive solution for monitoring critical parameters, without contact and in real-time, and can operate safely while providing highly precise measurements. For these reasons, it was deemed appropriate to continue developing an innovative prototype, based on an image detection and processing technique, at RSE.

Initial outdoor tests have demonstrated the functionality of the system, and the development of the first version of the system management and image processing software has begun.