Checking lines not for the faint-hearted

A long way up, a long way down — but hey, the sun was out and there was no worry over social distancing.

It is not the job many of us would pick, but contractors were in deepest Fiordland on Thursday doing a job not for the faint-hearted.

Dangling from helicopters, workers spent the day checking power lines in the Grebe Valley, near Manapouri.

A Transpower spokesman explained the workers were inspecting the joints on its wires to ensure there were no defects.

Those doing the checking were kitted out with thermo-vision gear to look for any ‘‘hot spots’’.

If wires are in good working order they are able to carry full power load.

If not, power is lost and we all pay for that.

The Transpower spokesman said it was the kind of work that was carried out on a regular basis across the country to make sure its lines provided reliable service to the communities it supplied.

The work had been done for many years on the lines for power from Manapouri.

It will be 50 years next year since the Manapouri power station became fully operational.