AMR/OMS IntegrationAMR/OMS IntegrationImproving Utility Operational Efficiencies and Enhancing Customer Value One Ping at a TimeImproving Utility Operational Efficiencies and Enhancing Customer Value One Ping at a Time

Jason E. DettmanLead Programmer Analyst Outage Management / GIS

Integrys Business Support

Eric J. Charette, PESenior System ConsultantOutage & Mobile Workforce Solutions

Intergraph Corporation

Integrys Energy Group– Holding company based in Chicago, Illinois

Operating Subsidiaries– Wisconsin Public Service Corp: 450,000 electric & 310,000 gas customers

– Upper Peninsula Power Company: 51,000 electric customers

– Michigan gas Utilities: 165,000 gas customers

– Minnesota Energy Resources: 206, 000 gas customers

– Peoples Gas: 840,000 gas customers

– North Shore Gas: 158,000 gas customers

5,140 employees Systems in place at WPSC and UPPCO

– Intergraph InService OMS Solution

– Smallworld GIS

– DCSI TWACS AMR solution (WPSC only)

Company OverviewCompany Overview

In electric distribution operations, long standing practices and procedures have withstood the test of time

One standard at WPSC was manually calling customers back after an outage to verify power restoration during major storms

Common to call back all customers to verify that power restoration– Calls were made by the dispatchers

– Necessary to prevent return trips to an outage

– Callbacks took away from dispatching and prolonged the restoration

Partial solution had additional personnel make calls during a storm – Resulted in higher cost to restore power to same amount of customers

– Difficult to manually enter the information into the legacy OMS

Before power could be verified by phone, line crews had left the site for next outage before learning that power was still out

Business PainBusiness Pain

Business SolutionBusiness Solution

In March 2005, WPS began a multi-million dollar project to implement a commercial off-the-shelf OMS – The system would replace in house legacy systems– Each system had their value, but lacked interactive graphics,

real-time network management, switch planning– Goals were higher levels of reliability, increased operational

efficiencies, and enhanced levels of customer satisfaction

Interfaces included CIS, GIS and AMR– Smart meters had been installed as part

of another project– Project incorporated use of smart meters

into power restoration verification process

In April 2006 WPS went live with new OMS

The Process TodayThe Process Today

Nearly 18 months after the initial go live of the project Take advantage of AMR/OMS integration in everyday operations Upon closure of an outage within the OMS, the interface pings

meters of customers who reported power out– Order is automatically closed in the CIS system for successful pings

– Manual intervention is taken by a dispatcher for failed pings• May include a phone call back to the customer • Reissuing the call in the OMS for further analysis

Dispatchers now perform critical parts of their job while the meters are automatically pinged– Typical manual customer call

lasted up to one minute

– With the new automated process, 10 to 15 meters can be pinged per minute

CIS OMSCall Back

ApplicationAMR

1

3 2

54

1. OMS sends closure message with meter information for customers who phoned in their outage. This simultaneously goes to the Call Back Application and to the AMR System for Ping

2. If AMR cannot read the meter, it sends a message back to the Call Back Application where manual processing by the dispatcher must occur

3. If the dispatcher decides that the crew must return to the site to verify power restoration, they manually reissue the call to the OMS

4. If the dispatcher decides that the power has been restored, they manually close the call within the Call Back Application and send it to the CIS

5. If AMR successfully reads the meter, it sends a message back to the Call Back Application as notification to the dispatcher only, and closes the call in the CIS system

5

1

Process Flow ChartProcess Flow Chart

WPS also leveraged this interface by giving dispatchers the ability to ping meters directly within the OMS from the interactive map

Dispatcher locates a device on the map and generates a list of customers to be pinged that are downstream

– Can select a transformer, fuse, breaker, or conductor and automatically send list of downstream customers to AMR

Predictive pings – Help determine the extent of an outage– Confirm what the OMS outage predication

engine already has determined

When supply voltage is present, dispatcher can cancel the order before lineman is dispatched

– Then they call customer to inform them that WPS has verified power to meter

– Can advise customer of additional steps to take

The Process TodayThe Process Today

Process handled with OMS and a custom-built application– Called “CB Man’’, short for Call Back Manager

– CB Man is now a critical part of the outage management process

CB Man manages – All pings automatically created as part of closing orders

– All pings manually created through the map interface

– Stores a historical records of all transactions

Simple user interface appeals to everyday user and occasional user With automation, still important that to retain customer service levels

– Dispatchers still make customer call backs during a storm but focus on customers who requested a call back

– Customers no longer bothered after hours with call back

With OMS/AMR integration, a meter ping takes place of manual call – Provides near real-time information to dispatch

– Eliminating most call backs saves more than 320 hours of annual labor

The Process TodayThe Process Today

Call Back ManagerCall Back Manager

WPS has eliminated about 20 trips per week to locations where internal problems or other issues are present.

Before dispatching crews, meters under following conditions for single customer outages are pinged– During normal weather reported through IVR

– From apartments with no other related calls

– With no other reporting customers on same transformer

– Single call originating from remote location (work for example) or other location not the same as the outage

– Single call based on an alarm system notification

Annual cost savings of nearly $108,000

Benefits of the IntegrationBenefits of the Integration

Cost Savings Calculations for Avoided Trips by WPS for Internal Customer Problems

Normal Business

Hours

Outside of Normal

Business Hours

Totals

Avoided Trips / Year 364 676 1040

Hours / Year 728 1352 2080

Totals $25,480 $82,472 $107,952

Other factors included in cost saving calculations– Wage rate for line electricians

– Overtime wage rate

– Additional inconvenience pay under union guidelines

– Cost to operate response trucks

– Average distance required to investigate problem

Benefits of the IntegrationBenefits of the Integration

WPS also recognized benefits during storms Recent storm left thousands without power CB Man proved valuable when dispatchers from

non storm areas were assigned to do analyst work Using the OMS map and CB Man, storm

dispatchers pinged meters to confirm outages– Physically located hundreds of miles away

– Didn’t know the storm site’s electrical network

According to Dale Klimek, Supervisor of Dispatch Operations at WPS, “Their work helped to eliminate unnecessary trips and allowed our crews to focus on the actual outage locations.”

Completed restoration in less time than storms of the past where AMR/OMS integration not in place

Benefits of the IntegrationBenefits of the Integration

In WPS service territory, hunting and fishing seasons means returning to vacation property for first time since previous year

If an outage had affected remote areas and was not reported, customers would arrive to a cottage without power

This would result in – An after-hours call to the utility

– Cost incurred to repair the problem on overtime for WPS

– Inconvenience to the customer.

WPS tracks misreads for several days leading into these weekends– Then dispatch crews to these locations during normal working hours

WPS also uses this technique after storm activity – Ping meters in affected areas to ensure power restoration

– By restoring power under these conditions, WPS is able to save cost and provide better, yet hidden, customer service

Benefits of the IntegrationBenefits of the Integration

Since OMS/AMR interface has been in production, Outage Management customer satisfaction scores have risen steadily each quarter– Scored 8.7/10 on recent outage management survey

Clear that the customers are finding more value with the service that WPS provides during outages

Integration at WPS has led to – Faster outage analysis– Higher levels of reliability– Accurate reporting to the Wisconsin PSC– Increased operational efficiencies– Enhanced levels of customer satisfaction.

Benefits of the IntegrationBenefits of the Integration

WPS looking for additional ways to leverage technology Future enhancements may include

– To automate the manual ping process for single power outages

when the order is created in their CIS • Annual projected savings of ~ $10,000

• Based on 3,000 single customer power outages a year

– Allowing customers to verify power status by pinging their own meter through a secured web portal

– An integration with an outbound dialer to call customers back after AMR verifies that the power has been restored

• Will call customers back after AMR verifies power restoration

• Customers may be notified that their power has been restored before they even knew there was an outage

The Process TomorrowThe Process Tomorrow

Jason E. DettmanLead Programmer Analyst Outage Management / GIS

Integrys Business Support

1.920.433.1096

jedettman@integrysgroup.com

Eric J. Charette, PESenior System ConsultantOutage & Mobile Workforce Solutions

Intergraph Corporation

1.256.684-3477

eric.charette@intergraph.com