Powercuts have long plagued utility companies since they've been in operation. Whether the cause is a blown transformer, a natural disaster, or a traffic accident, a powercut can affect entire neighborhoods. The challenge tends to be pinpointing the location of the cause as well as the reach of the loss of service.
Identifying the Problem
Under traditional systems, utility companies managing a blackout would get calls signaling a problem. They would run tests through their entire grid determining where sensors say a section is not functioning. The company would then send out a crew to manage the necessary repair after each connection point was tested. The process can be laborious as well as take a long time. In addition, it doesn't accurately assess the reach of a blackout.
Most people don’t carry power readers or other necessary electrical equipment needed to assess the depth of a powercut. But most people do carry smartphones.
Today, utility companies are starting to realize the power of the consumer equipped with a smartphone. Their wireless nature makes them perfect alternatives for when a powercut occurs. Combined with sophisticated communications applications, these smartphone-equipped customers make great live sensors in the field to track and determine the impact of a blackout.
Customer-Assisted Problem Spotting
The first method, of course, is the call. Customers with smartphones are encouraged to call the utility and report the loss of service. Information can be gathered from both the caller as well as where the phone call is coming from via questions and response. That said, people move around so the information isn't entirely accurate, but it can be aggregated to determine a pretty good picture of service loss in a grid section with enough calls.
The second approach involves the Internet. Creative utility companies are now providing website pages with maps where customers can again use their smartphones, air cards or other Internet connections to access. Once they do, the customers can provide their location data and basic identification, reporting the service loss. The map immediately updates with the new information, showing an accurate map pin related to the report. The customers see the extent of the blackout as well as the utility.
A New Way of Thinking
The major paradigm shift in the above tools allows customers to get involved in the utility company's ability to manage a service loss. Just because a powercut occurs doesn't mean the utility is automatically aware of the problem and able to pinpoint it using system sensors.
Many times, the utility has to assign crews to travel a section and confirm by sight that each connection is working. With the help of customers and their smartphones, this task is made a lot easier because multiple points of information can be combined quickly. It also saves a utility company's fleet costs and equipment costs since less gas and industrial supplies are used up testing an entire grid section. The utility can instead assess the situation faster with a far more efficient response, and more service loss points can be tracked simultaneously.
While a major disaster will still require multiple crews to skulk the streets and carry a responsible collection of electrical equipment to respond, the customer smartphone connection in normal blackout situations can make operating a utility a bit easier overall.
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