GE Digital’s Storm Assist’s Enhancements Helps to Optimize Power Restoration Operations

GE Digital unveiled enhancements to Storm Assist, an outage response module that is part of its Advanced Distribution Management Solutions (ADMS) portfolio.  Though it goes by the name Storm Assist, the solution is designed to be leveraged regardless of weather.  This application allows electric utilities to decentralize outage dispatch as well as help to expand their outage response workforce during times of intense activity.

Storm Assist helps to optimize existing control center staff by allowing them to focus on high-priority, high-impact outages while off-loading much of the routine outage and crew management work to other users in the control center, as well as those in the business center or offsite.  The latest enhancements in Storm Assist features improved support for single customer outages, in-service incidents, and major event days.

Storm Assist is a workflow-oriented application that manages the full lifecycle of an outage: from the initial phone call or through an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) notification; to crew assignment and status updates; to Estimated Time to Restoration (ETR) revisions; and to the final outage closeout process.  Users have access to real-time network data, customer calls and comments, real-time crew locations and status updates, and are able to capture detailed restoration information associated with the outage.

New features in Storm Assist include:

• Support for Major Event Days – This capability coordinates the management of severe weather or other major events by communicating event details, including Estimated Time to Restoration (ETR) modifications and appropriate event data to utility customers.  Utilities will receive regular communication with the major event management team, with more enhanced visibility into event data in real-time.
• Integration with AMI systems –Through a web-based interface, utilities can assess its customer meters using the existing AMI network to determine if a suspected outage is a problem on the utility’s network or within the consumer’s home.  The assessment is done in real-time and the results are available typically in real-time.  Depending on the results, utilities can decide whether to dispatch a crew or instruct the consumer to take action.
• Support for In-Service incidents – This capability helps to streamline the management of non-outage or in-service issues, such as partial power, maintenance, or vegetation orders.  With Storm Assist, these orders are managed and assigned to specific teams or at specific times.

The latest version of Storm Assist, part of GE Digital’s ADMS solution, is now generally available.