Power of Community: William Preast

Meet William Preast, Lead Meter Technician at JOEMC, who ensures your meters are working correctly.

William has been fascinated with flight since he was a child. At the young age of five, he built his first static model aircraft and then at age thirteen, he received his first radio-controlled plane. He’s been flying ever since!

When William is not working on electric meters, he can be found operating and navigating JOEMC’s drone.

He first heard of drones being used commercially at a club meeting. After extensive research on the use of drones in the electric utility industry, he presented the idea to our cooperative’s CEO, Jeff Clark. With William’s knowledge, enthusiasm, and 30 years of flying experience, Jeff was on board. William achieved his commercial drone license in 2017.

JOEMC now uses drones to assess storm damage when roads are impassable, or in wet, swampy terrain. Drones are used to inspect right of way corridors or look for potential tree or vegetation problems near power lines. Drones provide inspections that assist with preventative maintenance on distribution lines, transmission lines, and substations.

During his time off, when not flying drones and radio-controlled airplanes, you can find William fishing. He loves to bass fish with his dad and travel throughout North Carolina competing in different tournaments.