Contract Storm Assessment Services for Electric Utilities
More and more electric utilities are contracting with companies that specialize in storm assessment services in order to provide a lifeline when outage restoration efforts overwhelm internal resources. These services allow utilities to better utilize their employees by allowing them to focus on more critical tasks. That being said, not all utilities would benefit from this type of service.
Nuts and Bolts of Third-Party Storm Assessment Services
Companies that provide contract-based storm assessment services tend to be highly experienced, technologically-advanced, and flexible enough to enable their services to be deployed quickly and easily. Obviously, all electric utilities have their own damage assessment personnel, but a third-party service might come in handy during massive events that stretch the company’s internal resources too thin.
Generally, usage of such third-party services will be outlined in the emergency plan, including contact information for the designated service provider, guidelines and requirements, and the criteria used to determine when the service should be activated.
Third-party storm assessment companies typically follow the same steps as internal resources to conduct damage assessment. That is, they inspect the designated area and provide data and information around the extent, nature and location of any damaged equipment or infrastructure. Based on the results of this initial inspection, it may then be necessary to deploy a secondary, deeper investigation to collect additional data and document things such as material lists, cost estimates, special equipment needs, site-accessibility concerns, and vegetation concerns.
These companies will often use proprietary software and drones to create a utility map to chart out the location. These maps show things like the location of hazards, access points, compromised roadways, utility infrastructure, and damage notations.
So, yes, contract storm assessment services can definitely come in handy, but every utility must conduct something akin to a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether to utilize these companies. For example, utility companies that have small service territories, or utilities that have a greater-than-average proportion of damage assessors, may not need this type of service.
In the final analysis, although it’s not for everybody, third-party storm assessment services are definitely something that all utilities should consider, weighing the pros and cons specific to their unique situations.
