Electric utilities that can trace a fault in their network to the smallest possible geographic area have the greatest ability to restore power quickly and efficiently. Every second of network downtime means inconvenience for customers and lost revenue for the utility.

When operators are notified of a fault (such as when they detect a recloser lock-out), they must pinpoint the corresponding fault as best they can and quickly relay an approximate location to repair crews tasked with fixing the problem. Operating expenses and opportunity costs increase when repair crews must spend extra time driving around during a power outage to find the root cause.

SurvalentONE Fault Location Analysis helps control room operators more precisely locate faults in the electrical grid and pass along more exact position coordinates to the repair crews. The solution uses fault data collected from the field to calculate the most probable fault location(s) then maps the results in SmartVU, making it easy for operators to direct repair crews to the recommended location(s).

With Fault Location Analysis narrowing down the search area, utilities can reduce fuel consumption, minimize wear and tear on trucks, and reduce the labor cost of each repair, while maximizing revenue and improving the quality of their service. In addition, Fault Location Analysis makes operators more productive by letting them work entirely within the familiar SmartVU interface instead of switching over to standalone, third-party software to perform each fault location analysis.

Utilities can also retain studies for future analysis. Engineers can use historical data to detect failure patterns, identify potential deficiencies in the network, and design improvements that will prevent similar faults from occurring in the future.