DTEK Dnipro Grids install bird protective devices in Novomoskovskiy and Magdalinovskiy Districts
Being a responsible and reliable company, DTEK is committed to the program of ornithological safety and biological diversity conservation. Over the last two years, DTEK Dnipro Grids specialists have already installed 315 bird protective devices on high-voltage lines. These polymer protective casings for insulators and adjacent cables prevent their contact with birds. This helps to make the high-voltage lines safe, and to avoid emergency shutdowns for clients. 81 pieces of similar devices were installed in Kryvyi Rih District last month. Moreover, it is planned to install 119 sets more in Novomoskovskiy and Magdalinovskiy Districts.
Power engineers discuss and agree installation locations with ornithologists. They conduct surveys of territories and identify the most dangerous sections of the lines for birds, taking into account birds' seasonal migration and habitats.
“In Magdalinovskiy and Novomoskovskiy Districts, we see many various species of birds all year round. Here we can find species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and the red list of our region, such as imperial eagle, snake eagle, white-tailed eagle, kestrel, red-footed fawn, and hobby. In addition, many more species of birds of medium and small sizes, such as hoopoes, woodpeckers, corvids, and rare species of pigeon - stock dove. Protective devices on high-voltage lines help to protect them from the risk of death and to preserve the birds’ species diversity in our region,” says Aleksandr Ponomarenko, Ph.D in Biology, and Associate Professor of the Zoology and Ecology Department of Oles Honchar Dnipro National University.
In addition to the bird protection casings, the company's specialists install special light reflective markers on high-voltage lines, which make the lines much more visible to flying birds. They also equip nests for birds. For example, the company's specialists installed wooden and metal nests for the Red Book stock dove in Magdalinovskiy District and for scops owls in the Dniprovsko Orilskyi Nature Reserve. Besides, 146 nests were installed for storks in Tsarichansky, Pavlogradsky, Petropavlovsky, Solonyansky, Mezhevsky and other districts of the region.
A video of the birds protection devices installation within the Kryvyi Rih District territory can be found here.