Sector · GPR Survey
GPR Survey for Power Utilities & Underground Cable Networks
HT cable does not forgive a strike, and the record of where it runs is usually older than the people relying on it.
1.5 lakh kilometres and counting, a sustained ceiling of 100 km a day, and a record month of 700 KM in 30 days — every metre on our own equipment. Because mobilisation runs from Faridabad, sites beyond Delhi NCR carry a ₹1,00,000 per-project minimum. Inside NCR no minimum applies.
Quick AnswerMezux Touch traces and maps underground power networks for distribution utilities, transmission licensees, industrial estates and contractors excavating near live cable. Work covers HT and LT distribution, duct banks, substation approaches and cable route proving ahead of construction.
Two methods, because one is not enough
Power cable is conductive, which makes electromagnetic locating the natural first tool — direct connection or induction gives a strong trace on a live or accessible cable. Where that works, it works well.
It stops working in the situations that matter most. Abandoned cable carries no signal. Cable inside a duct bank blurs into its neighbours. A route with several parallel circuits returns a trace that cannot be resolved into individual cables. Radar reads the physical duct and bedding rather than the current, which is why we run both and reconcile them.
Where the two methods disagree, we investigate rather than adopt whichever answer is tidier, and the conflict is written into the report.
Duct banks and the counting problem
A concrete duct bank carrying multiple ways is one of the harder targets in utility survey. Electromagnetically it presents as a single congested signal; visually at a chamber it may show a way count that does not match what actually runs through the whole section.
Radar resolves the physical structure — its outline, depth and orientation — which is what an excavation actually needs to avoid. We report the duct bank as a structure with stated dimensions rather than as a line, because a line invites a machine to dig alongside something far wider than the drawing suggested.
Excavation near live cable is a safety case
Touch potential and arc flash make a struck HT cable a personal-injury event, not a supply interruption. Utilities and responsible contractors treat pre-excavation clearance as a safety control rather than a document.
That shapes how we report. Probable HT routes are flagged separately with their own confidence statement, critical crossings are nominated for physical verification, and the drawing states plainly where the ground defeated the method instead of presenting uniform clearance that was never earned.
Records that stopped matching the ground
Distribution networks accumulate. Feeders are reinforced, sections are diverted around later construction, cables are abandoned in place rather than recovered, and very little of that returns to a consolidated drawing.
Field verification against the utility's own records is therefore the core of the work, and the useful output is usually the list of differences. Abandoned-looking cable is reported as unverified rather than as safely dead, because on a network of this age that distinction is the whole point of the survey.
Substation approaches and industrial estates
The densest power servicing is rarely on the open road. It concentrates at substation approaches, where every outgoing feeder converges into a few metres of ground, and inside industrial estates where decades of private connections were made without any consolidated drawing.
Both need tighter line spacing than a general corridor and both usually require working to a site permit and escort system rather than a municipal one. We plan and price them separately for that reason.
Crews mobilise across 28+ States/UTs on 14 owned systems. See utility mapping for how detection becomes a maintainable record.
Building a record the utility can maintain
A distribution utility does not need a drawing. It needs a network record that survives staff changes, keeps pace with reinforcement work, and tells a future user how each line was established.
We issue GIS layers structured for that: detection method, survey date and confidence held per feature, layer naming to the utility's own convention agreed before drafting, and a format the internal team can extend rather than a static PDF that ages out.
Where a utility already holds records, the useful deliverable is the reconciliation — the list of where the ground and the drawing disagree, which is usually longer than anyone expects.
Planning work around outage constraints
Surveying does not require an outage, which is one of its practical advantages, but the excavation or construction that follows often does. Knowing precisely where a feeder runs lets an outage be planned tightly rather than defensively.
That has direct commercial value for a distribution licensee measured on reliability indices. A shorter, better-targeted planned outage is a better outcome than a longer one booked to cover uncertainty.
For work inside substation land or industrial estates, we operate to the site's own permit, escort and induction system rather than expecting an exception.
What our own fleet has actually delivered
FAQ
Power Utilities — common questions
Because locators need a signal. Abandoned cable carries none, duct banks blur several circuits into one trace, and parallel runs cannot be resolved. Radar reads the duct and bedding physically, so we run both and reconcile them.
Yes, and we report it as a structure with stated dimensions rather than as a line. A line invites an excavator to dig alongside something considerably wider than the drawing implied.
We report it as unverified rather than as safely dead. On networks of this age, treating an apparently dead cable as confirmed dead is exactly the assumption that causes injuries.
In their own layer with their own confidence statement, and critical crossings are nominated for physical verification. Where the ground defeated the method, the drawing says so rather than implying clearance.
Yes. Survey is conducted from the surface with the network live, and for electromagnetic tracing a live cable is often easier to trace than a de-energised one.
Outside Delhi NCR the minimum accepted GPR order value is Rs 1,00,000 per project, driven by crew and rig mobilisation from Faridabad. Substation and feeder route programmes normally exceed it comfortably. No minimum applies within Delhi NCR.
Yes, to the site's own permit, escort and induction system. In-plant clearance before excavation or hot work is regular work for us.
We have pushed to 100 km a day on unobstructed corridors, using night working and company-owned radar systems. The strongest month we have logged is 700 KM of survey in 30 days. Our running total stands beyond 1.5 lakh km of GPR survey delivered. Actual pace on any given site is governed by utility density, access windows and the output format required.
Digging near live HT cable?
Send the location and circuit details — clearance here is a safety control, and it is worth having in writing.
Request a Sector QuoteGPR for power networks — specifications, standards and detailed questions
Mezux Touch traces underground power networks using two methods deliberately, because either alone leaves a gap that matters. Electromagnetic locating gives a strong trace on live or accessible cable and is the natural first tool. It fails precisely where the risk concentrates: abandoned cable carries no signal, cable within a duct bank blurs into its neighbours, and parallel circuits return a trace that cannot be resolved into individual cables. Radar reads the physical duct and bedding rather than the current, which is why we run both and reconcile them rather than choosing one.
How the work is run
Duct banks are surveyed as structures rather than as lines, because a line invites an excavator to dig alongside something considerably wider. Probable HT routes are flagged separately with their own confidence statement, and critical crossings are nominated for physical verification rather than cleared on detection alone. Where the two methods disagree we investigate rather than adopting the tidier answer, and the conflict is written into the report. Apparently abandoned cable is reported as unverified rather than dead, because on networks of this age that distinction is the whole purpose of the survey.
What you receive
HT and LT routes in separate layers with confidence stated per feature. Duct banks reported as structures with stated outline dimensions and depth, not as centrelines. A reconciliation schedule listing where the field findings and the utility's own records disagree, which on most distribution networks is longer than anyone expects. Critical crossings nominated for verification with the reason stated. GIS layers structured so the utility's internal team can extend them, with detection method and survey date held per feature so a future user knows how much to trust each line.
Beyond the basics
Why use radar when cable locators already work? Because locators need a signal. Abandoned cable carries none, duct banks blur several circuits into one trace, and parallel runs cannot be resolved.
Can you map a concrete duct bank? Yes, and we report it as a structure with dimensions rather than as a line. A line invites digging alongside something far wider than the drawing implied.
Do you identify abandoned cable? We report it as unverified rather than safely dead. Treating an apparently dead cable as confirmed dead is exactly the assumption that causes injuries.
Can you survey without an outage? Yes. Work is surface-based, and for electromagnetic tracing a live cable is often easier to trace than a de-energised one.
Why does the reconciliation schedule matter? Because networks accumulate. Feeders are reinforced, sections diverted and cables abandoned in place, and very little of it returns to a consolidated drawing.
Terms used on this page
Duct bank — several ducts encased together in concrete, which behaves as one structure rather than as separate lines. Touch potential — the voltage difference a person can be exposed to near a fault, which makes a cable strike an injury risk. Arc flash — the explosive release from a short circuit, a personal-injury hazard rather than a supply interruption. Unverified cable — a line that appears disused but has not been confirmed dead by its owner. Reconciliation — comparing field findings against the utility's records and reporting where they disagree.
Popular searches — HT cable and duct bank tracing
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