Improving Outage Response Times
Utilities – especially electric utilities – are facing increased pressure from all angles to improve outage response times. And this is a trend that is only expected to increase over time, thanks to climate change, regulatory tightening, and changing customer expectations, to name just a few.
Methods for Accelerating Outage Response Times
Obviously, all electric utilities in the U.S. are fully aware of this increased pressure, and are taking the necessary steps to improve restoration performance. The U.S. leads the pack in this regard, and now, utilities in other countries are beginning to follow suit. Here are a few examples:
- Regulators globally are now imposing stiff fines on utilities that are perceived to be too slow to execute a recovery.
- Utilities worldwide are considering the implementation of better technologies to automate and plan, including predictive damage assessment tools that utilize machine learning to improve predictive capabilities, as well as workforce planning tools.
- Utilities worldwide are preparing to link all assets and systems to improve communications and access to real time information; this is commonly known as smart grid technology.
Emergency preparedness has been a focal point in the U.S. utility sector for quite some time, and now utilities in other countries are feeling the pressure. That said, regulatory policies and system enhancements are not the end-all-be-all. Tools are only as good as the degree to which they are utilized properly, so there will always be a place for emergency training, exercises and drills. This can close the loop and help electric utilities of all shapes and sizes improve restoration performance and improve outage response times.
