Residents in the lower Hastings area will soon see a ‘Jarraff’ in motion, trimming vegetation along the high voltage powerlines from the Port Macquarie Golf Club to Dunbogan, in the coming weeks.
The project by Essential Energy, in partnership with both National Parks and the Port Macquarie Hastings Council, involves the trim-ming of overhanging branches and trees close to powerlines, as well as the clearing of vegetation underneath lines.
Essential Energy’s regional general manager, Brian Mclean, said trees coming into contact with the network can cause power supply interruptions and can also create hazards for people, wildlife and the surrounding environment.
The Jarraff is an all-terrain, four-wheel drive vehicle with a rotating trimmer blade at the end of an extendable, high voltage-insulated hydraulic arm that’s remotely operated to trim trees growing near overhead powerlines, or to clear low growing vegetation underneath the lines.
