In a year of uncertainty and change, UDC was fortunate to continue to work with our utility clients on a growing number and variety of projects. As we look back and analyze a sampling of our recent engagements, we are able to group them into several primary categories relating to digital transformation for best-in-class operation and preparation to adopt leading-edge technologies by utilities.
Content Overview
Esri Utility Network Upgrades and Migrations
Esri’s new network model geared towards utilities is providing the ability to model assets in GIS exactly as they exist in the field as well as model relationships between system components. Organizations are able to maintain multiple commodities as domain networks within a single utility network and can even model connectivity between different domain network features. The ArcGIS Pro Utility Network extension provides ease of access through webservices and supports both engineering and operational systems that require an “as-designed” view of the network.
UDC is very pleased to have been awarded four industry leading Esri Utility Network projects in 2020. We are actively working with each client to meet organizational objectives for their migration.
Learn more about our Utility Network services.
1. Utility Network Transition
Avista | Spokane, Washington
Avista has begun a two-year project for the production implementation of ArcGIS Pro and Utility Network for both their gas distribution/high pressure and electric commodities. UDC will provide services for the utility’s phased migration. This project will prepare the way for ADMS and DER management systems and high value applications to meet growing requirements.
View our Presentation with Avista >
Read about our Esri award for this work >
2. Gas GIS Utility Network Implementation
AVANGRID | Orange, Connecticut
AVANGRID will implement Esri Enterprise GIS and the Utility Network while leveraging existing investments in infrastructure and SAP, Esri ArcGIS, and Schneider Electric ArcFM at Southern Connecticut Gas and Berkshire Gas Company through two phases. For Phase I, UDC will implement editing tools and as-built workflows to support efficient data maintenance in the new system. In Phase 2, UDC will recommend and implement analytical tools to support DIMP compliance to meet regulatory reporting including various Integrity and Risk management dashboards and provide roadmaps for future Engineering Design technology, integration with SAP PM and SCADA and SAP HANA.
The new data model created in this project will be the template for standardizing all AVANGRID gas companies in the future.
View our Presentation with AVANGRID >
3. Esri Migration Design
Dominion Energy | Ohio & West Virginia
UDC is working with Dominion to oversee and participate in establishing a comprehensive Esri platform migration design. The design will support migration and implementation of Dominion Energy Ohio and Dominion Energy West Virginia gas distribution and high pressure from Smallworld GIS to an Esri GIS environment. This project will provide Solution and System Architecture implementation planning specifications for the utilities and formulate a GIS-SAP strategy that establishes a single source of truth for assets maintained in both systems.
4. Utility Network Migration
City of Palo Alto | California
The City of Palo Alto is undertaking a pilot migration to the Utility Network. Managing gas, electric, fiber and water services, the scope of the pilot focuses on electric. Palo Alto is working with UDC and using our automated migration tool to provide data modeling, advance configuration, validation and transfer of data from legacy databases including (CAD-based systems) to ArcGIS Pro. Their goal is to identifying efforts required for the successful migration of their full electric dataset.
ADMS Readiness, Implementation, Enhancement
UDC’s projects include several focused on ADMS readiness and implementation for our electric utility clients. ADMS, the aggregate system combining the operations of the utility’s Outage Management System (OMS), Distribution Management System (DMS) and their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), is becoming a priority consideration for electric utilities due to its capabilities to safely and efficiently manage outages and operate distribution.
High-value ADMS applications provide the ability to accurately determine the amount of power on the grid at any given time helping utilities to conserve energy and meet peak demand while also reducing equipment strain. They also automate power restoration by automating fault finding and switching to reduce the number of customers out and outage duration. ADMS benefits include increased ability to integrate and manage the two-way power flow of Distributed Energy Resources (DER), resiliency against storm damage and increased cyber security.
Learn more about our ADMS Implementation services.
5. ADMS Implementation
UDC is supporting the program to plan, design, build and implement a common ADMS platform across operating companies for a tier-one utility client. The program will take into account standardization, convergence and transformation opportunities to align the organizations, people, processes and technology to a common solution to enable a grid of the future strategy. In Phase 1, UDC was responsible for System Architecture (design, build, and configuration).
6. ADMS Readiness Field Connectivity Survey and Phase Verification
Eversource | Western Massachusetts
This project serves to enhance GIS data currently in place at Eversource to support the implementation of an Enterprise Outage Management System (OMS) as part of their larger ADMS and grid modernization plan. UDC is providing services to field capture customer to overhead transformer connections and verify connectivity. Information being collected includes phasing, GPS locations for the transformer, and the transformer size if available. Revised data will benefit the functionality of future outage restorations, customer notifications, engineering designs and subsequent modernization projects.
Read more about the initiative >
7. GIS Scripting for ADMS
PG&E | San Francisco, California
In support of PG&E’s Schneider Electric ADMS implementation, UDC has developed a scripting program to trace and record problems within the GIS data set and provided tools to fix the majority of errors with auto updaters. The UDC solution enables users to create an editing session and update multiple records at one time. In cases where the automated scripts do not apply to resolve data issues, we are participating to manually clean data. UDC is also supporting data model changes to provide for new attributes and domain values as well as bulk updates and implementing QA/QC rules to maintain quality over time.
Using their ADMS readiness scripting solution, PG&E has greatly reduced tracing process time down to a few hours. The easy to manage tools enable the utility to run monthly batch traces to support one-line views in ADMS without having to go to State Zero and within the normal workflow. Their new trace tools find inconsistencies to help to improve data over time and prevent errors so that they will be able to meet the zero data latency demands of their ADMS.
8. ADMS Driven Digital Twin
Cleco Corporation | Pineville, Louisiana
Built by UDC on ArcGIS Enterprise and using data generated from Cleco’s Schneider Electric ADMS, the utility’s Electric Outage Operations, Electric Outage History, and Electric Outage Reliability dashboards provide an easily accessible view of the current, past, and reliability performance of their network supporting in-depth analysis. By leveraging one solution to achieve these results, Cleco was able to cut down on the overall cost compared to 3 separate solutions.
See our UDC Conversation with Cleco >
Compliance and Safety
Turning the focus on safety and compliance up another notch, the PHMSA “Mega Rule” adds greater expectations for gas operators including requirements for updating and verifying incomplete data, automating paper records and analysis, additional risk assessment, additional Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) analysis, verification, and coverage, increased reporting and analysis and the requirement for reliable, traceable, verifiable, and complete records. UDC offers many solutions and services to assist gas utilities in these areas and we are actively participating in multiple projects to address goals for compliance and safe operations at both gas and electric utilities.
9. GIS Enabled Compliance
The Energy Cooperative | Newark, Ohio
The Energy Cooperative rolled out production of UDC’s GIS-based gas compliance solution. Compliance Manager has enabled The Energy Cooperative to automate how work needs to be done to meet compliance goals. Digital collection improves data quality and helps ensure all required data is provided for leak scenarios encountered in the field. GIS integration allows upcoming maintenance work to be generated in Compliance Manager based on GIS inspection dates and up-to-date Regulation criteria.
See our UDC Conversation with TEC >
10. Gas Outage Management System
Unitil | Hampton, New Hampshire
Unitil began implementing an automated gas outage management system to manage outage events, small or large, with greater control and increased process visibility. The system being deployed is UDC’s Digital Utility® Gas OMS which is a GIS-based Esri Enterprise grade software application. Gas OMS will enhance the utility’s capabilities to address outage events with a digital approach for their back office and for personnel using mobile devices in the field. It will also enable mutual assistance from partner utilities if needed. They will use the new system to communicate outage information internally using built-in dashboard capabilities and can choose to add external facing dashboards for customer communication if desired.
Learn more about the initiative >
View our presentation with Unitil >
11. Construction Mobility Tracking and Traceability Solution
Dominion Energy | Ohio
UDC began work with Dominion to define and create a field application for documenting a plastic mainline installation workflow in the field that would meet goals for materials traceability. UDC provided project management and consulting services for development of construction mobility business cases at Dominion Energy and is leading the subsequent development of a tracking and traceability solution using Esri ArcGIS Survey 123 and Collector. The solution incorporates barcode scanning and high accuracy GPS for automated capture of accurate material and location data within the GIS and for use in project payments and property accounting.
12. Gas Distribution Double Mapping
PG&E | San Francisco, California
The PG&E Double Mapping project is working to increase the accuracy and quality of the company’s asset data to eliminate the dual capture of transmission assets. As a result of this project, the location of data in the distribution system will be aligned to the transmission system. UDC key responsibilities include moving the connection points (i.e., Regulator Stations and Farm Taps) between transmission and distribution assets to the correct GPS locations and ensuring proper alignment of distribution assets as PG&E merges their two gas web viewers.
13. ARMS Production Data Services and Audit
PG&E | San Francisco, California
The Accurate Reconciliation of Meters and Services (ARMS) project establishes a relationship between gas services in GIS to customer meter records in customer care and billing (CC&B) using an offline dataset. This allows ad-hoc request for a myriad of use cases, which includes the ability to find meter information needed to establish contact with a customer or perform inspections. The team uses automated software scripts to match each CC&B meter record to a gas service location in GIS.
UDC’s primary task on the ARMS project is to perform Data Acceptance Testing (DAT) and Audit of the work that is being performed by a sub-contractor. In addition, UDC is performing meter data refreshes, incorporating deltas pertaining to meters (i.e., add, updates or deletes) and performing actions on data requests that are submitted to the team by other departments within PG&E.
View our presentation with PG&E >
Engineering Design
Utilities are digitally transforming in all areas of Enterprise Asset Lifecycle Management and Engineering Design is no exception. New technologies are enabling greater detail asset information and data accuracy that support network modeling, maintenance, and essential planning and decision-making activities.
Learn more about our Utility Design & Construction Services >
14. Gas Design and Field As-built Solution Development
Sempra | Southern California
The objective of the Sempra Design Solution project is to improve information management in transitioning data from design through project closeout for high pressure, medium pressure, and storage integrity and safety management. The project focuses on software development, configuration, and data model enhancements of the existing Gas CAD systems. The solution build will use Automated Utility Design software by Spatial Business Systems and include extensions and subsequent field as-built solution recommendations. UDC is primarily responsible for all aspects of the project lifecycle including requirements, analysis, development, testing, training, and project / program management.
15. Enterprise Graphic Work Design for Gas and Electric Distribution
Con Edison | New York
Con Edison is consolidating engineering design to a single, common enterprise implementation of Schneider Electric’s Designer XI GWD System to support electric and gas distribution business functions and support integration with their existing GIS, ArcFM and Work Management System. UDC will provide technical oversight services, testing oversight, and project management support. Through GIS consolidation of gas and electric operations, Con Edison will experience improved design workflow, reduced design time and backlog, field feedback capabilities, data accuracy as well as standardize design practices across the utility.