News Articles

After AEP examined its service restoration process, the utility found a strategic opportunity for improving CAIDI across its 11-state region.

For Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), outage management is a time-tested system maintenance routine consisting of tree-trimming programs and outage-recovery planning that ensures utility personnel are prepared for emergency outages. ARCOS Callout and Scheduling Suite was a perfect way to automate the callout process and take them to the next level of efficiency.

In a survey conducted in September 2016 by ARCOS LLC, the software provider asked utilities how they manage damage assessment in the wake of major events like storms and earthquakes. ARCOS found a majority (35%) still relying on paper and pencil and others relying on electronic forms that were hand entered into an OMS (31%), other forms are represented and detailed in the full text.
The results are surprising if for no reason other than technology for assessing damage after major events has existed for more than a decade. One utility understands the challenge of relying on manual processes for damage assessment is Consolidated Edison of New York. When Superstorm Sandy left 8.2 million of its customers without electricity in October 2012, it took Con Edison more than a week to assess the damage. In the wake of the storm Con Edison put into place a device-agnostic damage assessment system that brings assessors an online and offline capability for finding and reporting damage.

ARCOS has implemented its Crew Manager solution for Eversource Energy to increase completion rates for planned work. The resource management solution enables centralized crew planning that employees across the service territory can run during blue-sky days and major events. With centralized data about crews and resources, Eversource is able to operate more efficiently across 40 work centers in three states.

With the ARCOS® Callout and Scheduling solution, the 650-square-mile Turlock Irrigation District (TID), one of four California irrigation districts providing water and electricity, has reduced by up to 60 minutes the time it takes to identify and assemble crews for restoration work. The ARCOS technology replaced paper lists that the utility’s control center operators relied on to call out linemen available to return power after an outage.

The Midwest Energy Association features the Columbia Gas companies of NiSource and how they are using automated call out and proximity based technology to improve efficiency and response time during an emergency event.

How the usage of ARCOS SIREN Mass Calling has changed the way Wisconsin Public Service relays outages or water flow level changes to their customers, enabling faster communication and instant information updates.

Wisconsin Public Service (WPS), a subsidiary of WEC, stays current in the instant information age by using ARCOS SIREN Mass Calling to notify customers of gas service disruptions or changes in water flow.

Cobb EMC Chooses ARCOS to Automate Callout Procedure for Utility Crews.