Kearney-based startup could help repair weaknesses in the U.S. electrical grid

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Kearney-based startup has set out to decrease the time it takes to inspect power lines by automating the process with new software.

Silicon Prairie News spoke with Dusty Birge, CEO and co-founder of Snappy Workflow, about the company’s initiative to decrease inspection time by 1,000%.

Birge told the outlet that a typical utility company can patrol 10% of its entire system throughout the year.  This means the average company would take 10 years to inspect its entire system.

If a portion of the grid developed a weakness shortly after being inspected, it would take a decade to discover.

Snappy Workflow’s other co-founder was previously the CEO of an electric company in Nebraska that controlled 2,500 miles of power lines and needed to inspect 250 miles a year.

According to Silicon Prairie News, documenting the inspections has proven to be inefficient.

Companies are currently unable to prove which span of the electrical grid they patrol each year.  Without solid proof, they have a harder time receiving assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency when disasters happen.

Snappy Workflow’s software helps utility companies automate the thermal and visual inspection of power lines through cameras mounted on the company’s vehicle.

The company has already received $1.2 million to help accelerate field testing at five Nebraska utility companies throughout the summer.

Snappy Workflow plans to commercialize the software in early 2023.

The company hopes to grow in Kearney, which will create new, high-paying jobs in central Nebraska.