ESB, Ireland’s national electricity provider, has entered a five‑year partnership with Cyberhawk to enhance the resilience of its transmission and distribution networks.
The collaboration supports ESB’s Winter Resilience Programme, launched in the wake of severe storms Darragh and Eowyn in late 2024 and early 2025—storms that caused widespread outages affecting over 700,000 homes, businesses, and farms, as well as causing significant damage to infrastructure.
Originally focused on high‑voltage transmission systems, ESB’s resilience efforts have now been extended to include distribution networks due to extensive storm-related damage.
In response, Cyberhawk deployed drone inspection teams across more than 180 kilometres of ESB’s distribution lines—covering over 1,000 sections located in dense woodland. This rapid deployment enabled swift assessment of damage such as fallen trees and compromised equipment.
Utilising Cyberhawk’s iHawk cloud‑based platform, ESB was able to digitally catalogue storm damage to inform emergency response, guide debris clearance, and support maintenance scheduling.
The visual data also highlighted areas where vegetation encroachment posed future risks—allowing ESB to take preventive action before further storms could cause disruption.
This initiative is part of a wider effort by ESB to strengthen its commitment to sustainability, safety, and consistent service delivery for its two million customers.
Cyberhawk’s Senior Vice President EMEA, Patrick Saracco, emphasised the value of the partnership: “ESB’s openness to innovation and collaboration enabled us to deliver real, measurable benefits.
“This programme demonstrates the power of combining aerial intelligence with actionable analytics, and we’re honoured to play a role in helping strengthen the resilience of Ireland’s energy infrastructure against extreme weather events.”
Through this collaboration, ESB is harnessing advanced aerial technology not only to respond to past damage, but also with an eye to future preparedness and proactive network management.
