Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a sensor that attaches to energized power lines and detects hidden grid threats, including tree limbs contacting conductors, before they lead to outages or wildfires. "Power lines face many undetected threats, from tree limbs momentarily touching the power lines during wind gusts to aging grid components nearing permanent failure," said Pablo Paz, research associate at CEM and technical lead for the project. Self-Powered MonitoringThe monitoring device consists of two clamp-on units that linemen can install on energized power lines. Tree contact with power lines is classified as a high-impedance fault. They noted that growing electricity demand, aging infrastructure, and more volatile weather have increased the need for improved grid monitoring technologies.