Our system operators were already comfortable with typical menu items, GUI navigation, and SurvalentONE applications. They were also familiar with how SurvalentONE Topology Processor drove the connectivity mode, so it made sense to integrate OMS with our current SCADA model and database.
The Challenge
Lethbridge Electric Utility (LEU) needed an outage management system (OMS) to supplement their SCADA-controlled operations. The utility wished to improve internal as well as customer communication processes (for which it lacked the necessary data), sufficiently leverage AMI data in real-time operations, and accurately pinpoint outage scale and location to avoid lengthy patrols, over-reliance on customer outage reporting, and extended outage durations. These factors resulted in considerable operator fatigue and customer distrust, and needed to be addressed immediately.
LEU was already using SurvalentONE SCADA in the control room, together with a third-party GIS model. However, LEU was not confident in the naming or status of the switches and fuses represented in the GIS model because the electric design, operations, and accounting groups were each inputting data as needed. In addition, they were unsure if all energized assets were represented on the GIS. Finally, the association of meters to transformers and the consistency of naming conventions were also in doubt on their GIS system.
The Solution
LEU’s journey with SurvalentONE OMS began with an extensive data clean-up spanning nine months. Once this was completed, the SurvalentONE GIS Wizard ran automated queries that validated statuses and identified misnomers. GIS Wizard enabled the team to fix errors and inconsistencies, quickly map/link load break elbows, switches and fuses to 13,000 database points. Survalent then worked with LEU to future-test the system to ensure that the GIS Wizard would be able to import consistent, clean data in the future.
The next step was to integrate SurvalentONE OMS with LEU’s existing SurvalentONE SCADA system. This enabled LEU to automatically visualize the magnitude, scale, and scope of an outage by merging SCADA and OMS data with call analysis data. It also reduced operator dependencies on multiple applications, while increasing operator focus on restoration activities during outages.
Lethbridge Electric Utility is a public electric distribution utility that serves a population of 92,730 people in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
