It's Electrifyin'
When a power line goes down because of a man-made disaster, bad weather, or even a simple accident, one of the first thing
emergency managers need to know is, "Who do we call to fix this?" The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) saw
this need could be addressed by having a single digital map showing which electric company is in charge of which area,
and having that map accessible from a single location. So IURC, began working with electric utilities on a plan to make this happen.
After months of discussion and planning, IURC and its members developed a plan to replace the hardcopies of service
boundaries with digital versions, and house the master copy at IURC.
A committee was formed to oversee the massive undertaking: gathering the hardcopies from each utility, converting
them to a digital format, developing standards to be followed, and incorporating the new data into a website.
Results
- There now exists a single online map of all the boundaries
- A free online tool allows electric companies to maintain their boundaries remotely, making them more accurate and more up-to-date
- Electric companies can access their data online without a dedicated a computer, special software or training
- Emergency management and first responders have immediate, 24-hour access to the data
- Participants have all seen savings in costs, time, collaboration, communication, and processes
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