ALGIERS – Algerian electrical customers will see improved quality and continuity of electrical service over the summer as the Algerian Electricity Transmission System Management Company (GRTE) partners with Tassili Travail Aérien (TTA), a subsidiary of Tassili Airlines, to clean insulators from the air.

The operation began on June 27 and uses TTA helicopters to clean lines and insulators along the coast and those supplying major urban areas. The project is focused on power lines carrying electricity from power generation plants, such as Ras Djinet and Terga, as well as other lines near Algiers, Annaba and Oran. International interconnection lines are also included in the cleaning project.

The company states that the depollution partner will improve the quality of service by stabilizing the behavior of the national electricity transmission network.

The aerial method allows GRTE to wash high and very high voltage lines, 220 and 400 kilovolt, without interrupting electrical service. The helicopters can clean approximately 300 chains of insulators daily, the company stated in a release. GRTE anticipates 20,000 chains of insulators will be cleaned by helicopters in addition to those cleaned by conventional methods.  

GRTE faces a high demand for electrical services in summer, while pollution increases due to smoke from forest fires and other sources. Cleaning the lines and insulators helps prevent disruptions of the power grid. The project will continue through the summer and is expected to end on Oct. 30.