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Revolutionizing Gas Leak Surveys: How Mobile Workforce Management Transforms Utility Safety and Efficiency

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Gas leak surveys are critical for ensuring public safety and maintaining regulatory compliance, especially in light of aging infrastructure and evolving federal requirements. Yet, traditional processes make it difficult to perform this work efficiently and effectively. As leading utilities have discovered, a map-centric mobile workforce management solution can revolutionize gas leak surveys, improving efficiency while ensuring safety and compliance.

New Requirements Create Greater Pressure

As US energy production reaches record levels, the gas utility distribution network is challenged to keep up with surging demand. Yet, this critical infrastructure is aging (much of it dating back 80+ years) and susceptible to leaks that are potentially dangerous and can result in lost revenue. From 2004–2023, 12,721 reported pipeline incidents caused 270 fatalities, over a thousand injuries, and more than $11 million in costs.

The passage of the 2020 PIPES Act and the creation of the Natural Gas Distribution Safety & Modernization Grant Program are moving utilities forward in improving the safety of high-risk legacy natural gas distribution infrastructure. To turn the congressional mandates of the PIPES Act into regulatory requirements, the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed to amend federal pipeline requirements. These amendments aim to reduce methane and other emissions through more stringent leak survey requirements and performance standards for leak detection programs. The intent is to find and repair gas leaks before they cause ruptures or explosions, using the most advanced technology available. These proposed changes will also place greater pressure on gas utilities to improve how they track and trace gas utility assets in accordance with ASTM F2897, requiring more granularity in reporting on field asset condition.

Following Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) meetings on the proposed leak detection and repair rule (LDAR) in November 2023 and March 2024, PHMSA began reviewing and addressing committee recommendations and public comments received during the comment period. The comment period closed on April 29, 2024 for comments on GPAC proceedings related to the LDAR notice of proposed rulemaking and was extended to August 27, 2024 for comments on GPAC proceedings related to the class location notice of proposed rulemaking. As of November 2024, the ruling was not finalized. Regardless, gas utilities are taking proactive steps now to prepare for the eventual implementation of the final rule.

Traditional Leak Survey Methods Pose Limitations

Historically, conducting gas leak surveys has relied on manual and paper-based processes that create a host of challenges. Data required for performing and recording this work is often scattered across multiple disparate systems, complicating management and compromising accuracy and reliability. At the same time, the sheer volume of data hinders system performance.

Traditional gas leak survey processes also make the work of field crews and operations staff more difficult and inefficient. Field teams often lack the map-centric view needed to accurately determine the location of the assets they must inspect, and they’re forced to use cumbersome, error-prone manual data collection processes. Operations staff rarely have real-time data visibility or timely reporting on this important work. Without a clear, accurate picture of the work required and its current status, they struggle to manage and optimize their finite field resources.

As gas utilities work to ensure their field infrastructure is safe and reliable, they are replacing this inefficient approach with digitized solutions for managing field assets. The nation’s leading utilities are investing in mobile workforce management solutions that automate field processes like gas leak surveys, applying intelligent workflow and a map-centric approach to transform field work. Using geospatial solutions like EpochField, they are modernizing leak survey processes to improve efficiency, compliance, resource planning, and safety.  

Mobile Workforce Management Can Transform Gas Leak Surveys

Replacing manual field workforce management processes with a digitized, automated solution can revolutionize how gas utilities conduct leak surveys in compliance with the newest regulatory requirements. This approach yields several invaluable benefits.

  • Improved Accuracy. A mobile workforce management solution equips field crews to collect and validate data efficiently in real time, improving data integrity and reliability. More accurate data translates to better situational awareness, improving their safety and efficiency. A mobile workforce management system also provides standardized workflows and checklists that further improve accuracy.
  • Better Efficiency. A digitized solution like EpochField enables operations staff to plan the optimal route for field crews and allocate resources efficiently. By eliminating manual data entry and paperwork, a workforce management solution avoids wasted steps and streamlines communication between the field and the office.
  • Greater Insights. Advanced workforce management solutions like EpochField turn field asset data into powerful insights that help utilities make informed operational decisions. The platform serves as a central hub for managing and analyzing field data, integrating information from third-party asset management, GIS, and other back-office systems for a complete picture. The system’s reporting and data visualization capabilities also make data usable and actionable.
  • Enhanced Compliance. As regulations around leak surveys become more stringent, gas utilities can leverage a workforce management solution like EpochField to streamline compliance. A digitized solution automates recordkeeping—reducing manual work while simplifying reporting and providing a more auditable documentation trail. The platform also enables operations staff to proactively schedule gas leak surveys and maintenance in compliance with requirements.

Best Practices for a Smoother Digitized Solution Implementation

For gas utilities that are ready to replace inefficient manual workforce management processes with a digitized, automated approach, several best practices will ensure a successful implementation.

  • Assess your current workforce management processes and identify pain points and inefficiencies across your field operations, including the gas leak survey process.
  • Use this assessment to guide your selection of the technology solution and partner that is best suited to solve your specific field workforce management challenges.
  • Develop a comprehensive plan that includes hands-on training for all affected employees and change management strategies that build buy-in and ensure adoption.
  • Monitor the implementation to assess performance and identify opportunities to continually improve and fine-tune your processes for better outcomes.

 

How a Major Gas Utility Revolutionized the Gas Leak Survey Process

One of the nation’s largest utilities adopted this very approach when it replaced its manual leak survey process with a fully automated system using the EpochField workforce management solution. The utility serves more than 21 million customers across a 20,000-square-mile territory, handling 5% of all US gas deliveries through over 101,000 miles of distribution pipeline. As the organization prepared to comply with more rigorous gas leak survey requirements, it struggled with a massive volume of data residing across many different applications, some of it inaccurate and unreliable.

To meet these challenges, the utility implemented the EpochField geospatial solution to improve workforce management and enhance the efficiency of its field crews’ work tasks, including gas leak surveys. This highly scalable, cloud-based solution could handle the utility’s massive volume of GIS data, including all the information required to conduct pipeline leakage surveys accurately and efficiently. In conjunction with implementing EpochField, the utility added a more rigorous data validation process to identify and resolve data inaccuracies. And by engaging key stakeholders early, it gained crucial buy-in and valuable input as it redesigned operational procedures and workflow to support the new leak survey process.

Field crews now use the EpochField mobile app on tablets to capture and upload leak survey data directly to the platform’s web-based portal, centralizing data aggregation and analysis. This real-time visibility enables operations teams to monitor work orders and project status from a central dashboard, allowing for more efficient task management and faster, data-driven decision-making.

The utility’s field employees use the EpochField mobile app on their iPads to capture and upload leak survey data to the platform’s web-based portal, which serves as a central hub for data aggregation and analysis. This streamlined process empowers operations teams to monitor work orders and project completion status using a real-time dashboard, enabling more efficient task management and faster, data-driven decisions.

As utilities embrace all the opportunities of digital transformation, many are adopting digitized mobile workforce management solutions like EpochField. This industry-leading platform empowers utilities to conduct safer, more efficient, data-driven gas leak surveys and overall asset management, enhancing public safety and operational performance.

To learn how EpochField can revolutionize your gas leak survey process and other field tasks, contact an Epoch sales consultant or visit EpochField.

 

Improve Utility Pole Inspection Efficiency and Accuracy with The Right Mobile Workforce Management Solution

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Reliable utility poles are essential to a reliable grid, but they can fail for many reasons. Inspecting utility poles accurately and at the optimal intervals helps keep them in good operating condition. Yet, it’s challenging to conduct these inspections efficiently and effectively, especially across large service areas.

Leading utilities are discovering that a modern, mobile workforce management solution can streamline pole inspections, extend pole lifespan, prevent failures that cause unplanned outages, and support overall grid reliability.

The Importance of Accurate, Timely Pole Inspections

Wood utility poles are susceptible to a host of problems, including decay, insect damage, rot, and structural weakness. As their integrity diminishes, the likelihood of failure – and resulting outages – increases. A weakened pole is also less able to withstand extreme weather, which is occurring more frequently.

With an accurate assessment of a pole’s condition, utilities can determine whether to repair or replace the asset. Since replacing a single pole can cost thousands of dollars, having confidence in the inspection data helps organizations avoid unnecessary expenses and allocate resources wisely. 

Determining the optimal inspection interval is equally critical to pole integrity and resource allocation. Utilities need to make inspection scheduling decisions based on accurate data, such as last inspection date, inspection outcome, pole age, and maintenance history. Poles in certain areas may require more frequent inspections due to environmental conditions.

How Mobile Workforce Management Improves Pole Inspections

The right technology can help utilities optimize their pole inspection approach for better outcomes. Today’s utilities are adopting map-centric workforce management platforms that enable operations teams to visualize every pole location using GIS data, access historical records, and efficiently dispatch field crews for inspections and maintenance.

Selecting a platform that integrates with industry-leading tools like ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise provides the geospatial information needed to inform inspection decisions and guide crews in the field.

Once the utility identifies which poles require inspection, the workforce management platform can serve as the system of record for managing the associated field work. The solution can determine optimal inspection routes, then automatically schedule and dispatch field workers based on real-time availability, even factoring in time off or other constraints.

Operations teams can use an intelligent workflow builder to automate and streamline the inspection workflow—from scheduling to crew notification—using configurable work order forms and paperless, event-driven processes that improve accuracy and efficiency. A modern solution will provide an easy-to-use interface and drag-and-drop functionality to speed and simplify workflow building and editing.  

Once assigned, field crews can use a mobile workforce application to receive automated work orders, locate assets visually on a map, then complete digital inspection forms, capture photographic evidence, and upload images on the spot. In areas where Internet connectivity is unreliable, a modern platform that provides offline capabilities ensures inspection work continues uninterrupted.  

Meanwhile, the operations team can view scheduled and completed work, use GPS-based workforce tracking to see where crews are at any time, and automatically create work orders for repairs or other remediation measures based on inspection results. A robust workforce management solution also improves field-to-office communication, ensuring everyone is fully informed at every step in the process.

Beyond the significant efficiency and productivity gains, using a mobile workforce management platform can reduce operational costs in three ways:

  • Informing data-driven decisions about pole inspection and maintenance
  • Providing early notification of potential issues before they cause costly failures
  • Ensuring the utility allocates, schedules, and routes crews, equipment, and other resources optimally

In addition, real-time data about the location and condition of utility poles helps crews complete their work safely and simplifies compliance with inspection regulations.

Dominion Energy Streamlines Inspections with a Modern Platform

Dominion Energy is among the many utilities using a mobile workforce management platform to improve field asset inspection efficiency and safety. Serving an estimated 6 million customers in 15 states, the utility implemented the EpochField Workforce Management solution and mobile application to provide line workers with the real-time GIS data they need to facilitate asset inspections and maintenance.

Now the utility’s field crews have the situational awareness to guide their inspection and maintenance work, obtain accurate data about real-time conditions and asset maintenance history, identify access road locations, and even breadcrumb where they’ve completed work—all with a smartphone or tablet.

Transform Your Utility Pole Inspections with EpochField

To overcome the challenges of accurate and efficient pole inspections, utilities are turning to EpochField, from Epoch Solutions Group. EpochField digitally transforms, automates, and streamlines field service operations, including pole inspections. This map-first, digitized, data-driven platform becomes a single source for improving inspection and other field workflows.

By seamlessly integrating GIS data and connecting to the utility’s technology ecosystem—including third-party applications and legacy back-office systems—EpochField streamlines pole inspections, helps extend utility pole lifespan, reduces operational costs associated with field inspection and remediation, and enhances grid reliability.

Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our mobile workforce management solution can improve your utility pole inspection initiatives. Or visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for valuable insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

The Future of Vegetation Management: How Digitized Solutions Help Utilities Address the Growing Risk

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Nearly one-quarter of the power outages in the US are related to vegetation risk, according to research by The College of Nature Resources. The utility sector spends an estimated $6-8 billion annually on vegetation management, per Accenture, making it critical that these resources are used effectively. Many utilities are discovering that a digitized, map-first asset management solution can improve their vegetation management efforts, ensure they allocate resources strategically, and reduce the likelihood of a vegetation-related power outage or wildfire.

The Growing Impact of Vegetation on Utilities

The risk of vegetation contributing to costly and potentially dangerous power outages is on the rise, especially as severe weather events become more frequent due to climate change. The rising prevalence of drought conditions presents a significant challenge.

In the fall of 2024, 48 states experienced some level of drought—a situation The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) deemed “historic.” If a downed power line comes into contact with dry vegetation, it can spark a fire that takes power out of service and threatens properties and lives.

Even in the absence of weather issues, overgrown trees have the potential to extend into overhead power lines and ignite a fire. And while not all wildfires result from power equipment coming into contact with vegetation, the growing frequency of these events—from the 2023 Smokehouse Creek Fire in Texas, to the devastating wildfires on Maui and more recently in Los Angeles—has heightened awareness of the urgent need to reduce vegetation as a contributing factor.

Adding to the complexity, utilities must now comply with the updated Transmission Vegetation Management reliability standard from the North American Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC), which went into effect April 1, 2024. FAC-003-5 impacts all NERC Registered Transmission Owners and Generator Owners. As utilities add transmission capacity to address growing energy demand, while simultaneously transitioning to renewable energy, complying with this updated standard adds another layer of complexity.

Transforming Traditional Vegetation Management

When vegetation near utility assets is left unmanaged, it poses serious risks to power companies and their customers. That’s why utilities across the US engage in proactive vegetation management, such as pruning trees, removing trees and flammable brush, and widening rights-of-way to expand the area where they can manage vegetation.

However, the high cost of utility vegetation management and persistent labor shortages require utilities to adopt a more strategic, data-driven approach. Traditionally, vegetation management has been performed on fixed schedules based on historical patterns. But as weather patterns become more unpredictable, this approach becomes inadequate.

Instead, forward-thinking utilities are leveraging advanced technology to better inform their vegetation management strategies, prioritizing high-risk areas and maximizing the impact of their resources.

Where Legacy Systems Fall Short on Vegetation Management

To reduce fall-in, grow-in, and other vegetation risks, utilities need full visibility into where vegetation is encroaching on field assets or otherwise threatening reliable power. Equipped with accurate, real-time data, they can proactively forecast vegetation management needs, efficiently schedule inspections, and direct maintenance teams to the most critical areas.

However, traditional legacy systems and a lack of integration among disparate data sources make vegetation management challenging for today’s utilities. The information needed to inform vegetation management comes from multiple sources, which is often stored and managed within a variety of disconnected systems. For example, drone-captured aerial images and geospatial data from sources like LiDAR (light detection and ranging) are typically gathered using a mix of manual and digitized processes. As a result, the data is collected and housed in various formats that make it difficult to structure, synthesize, and process it for effective use.

Even as satellite technology provides more geographic and geospatial data, processing these massive data volumes requires significant computing power – something that outdated IT infrastructure and legacy systems struggle to handle.

A Digited Solution Reduces Vegetation Risk

Managing vegetation proactively and strategically demands a modern technology platform that supports gathering, synthesizing, and analyzing all the data inputs required to assess risk and direct field resources. Many utilities find that a digitized, geospatial asset management platform greatly improves vegetation management by providing a single repository of real-time data about field assets and the state of nearby vegetation.

By tracking each asset’s geospatial location and integrating data across many sources, a digitized solution provides the visibility utilities need to develop and execute effective vegetation management strategies. The solution standardizes data that is gathered from a variety of sources and exists in many different formats, including data from drones, satellites, mobile devices, and information within manual documents.

With the capability to automate field crews’ workflow end-to-end, a mobile workforce management platform streamlines work order creation, optimizes staff scheduling and deployment, facilitates tracking of vegetation management work progress, and ensures the utility allocates finite resources wisely. A modern, digitized asset management solution further improves vegetation management by giving field crews mobile access to the real-time data they need to carry out work orders efficiently and accurately.

Leading Utilities Improve Vegetation Management with EpochField

To meet today’s challenges, leading utilities are turning to EpochField, a map-first, geospatial asset management solution designed to modernize and streamline vegetation management operations. Purpose-built for utilities and scalable to any size organization, EpochField digitally transforms, automates, and streamlines field service operations, including the mission-critical task of vegetation management. This modern solution provides the spatial intelligence to inform vegetation management activities while seamlessly integrating with legacy systems, enterprise applications, and mobile devices for access to real-time data.

Many of EpochField’s newest enhancements greatly aid utilities in managing vegetation efficiently and effectively. For instance, the enhanced Edit Multiple Work Features tool equips field crews to manage tasks more accurately and simplifies the job of bulk editing work features. Updated Workflow Forms save field crews time by guiding them through the form logically, while allowing them to use the Workflow Builder to create these forms using simple drag-and-drop functionality. The Workflow Builder now includes a Spatial Lookup feature that supports auto-populating category values in workflow forms, using nearby features based on a specified spatial distance. These are just a few of the many EpochField features utilities can use to create vegetation management work orders and implement these tasks in the field.

Don’t let outdated technology hold back your vegetation management strategy. Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our digitized, geospatial asset management solution can help reduce vegetation-related risks and improve operational efficiency. Visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for more insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

Enhancing Form Usability with EpochField’s Show Intelligent Workflow Rule

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

A Smarter Way for Utilities to Streamline Data Collection

Efficient data collection for utility companies starts with well-designed forms. Field crews rely on structured, intuitive workflows to capture critical data quickly and accurately. However, a cluttered, overwhelming form can slow operations, frustrate users, and increase the likelihood of data entry errors.

That’s where EpochField’s Show Intelligent Workflow Rule comes in. This feature dynamically adjusts form visibility based on user input, ensuring that only the most relevant fields appear at any given time. The result? A more efficient, intuitive, and user-friendly experience—helping utilities improve field productivity, reduce errors, and enhance regulatory compliance.

What is the Show Intelligent Workflow Rule?

The Show Intelligent Workflow Rule is a built-in feature of EpochField, designed specifically for utilities that need to manage field operations efficiently. It enhances form usability by dynamically displaying or hiding fields based on predefined conditions, ensuring field technicians only see the information they need to complete their tasks.

Key Benefits for Utilities:

  • Reduces clutter by hiding irrelevant fields.
  • Improves user experience by making the form intuitive and easy to navigate.
  • Enhances efficiency by ensuring users only see what’s necessary.
  • Minimizes errors by guiding users through the form logically.

How Does the Show Intelligent Workflow Rule Work?

1. Initial Form Display

When the form is first loaded, only categories and fields not marked as Hidden by Default will be visible. This ensures a clean layout and streamlined user experience.

2. Dynamic Field Display

As users fill out the form, specific inputs trigger additional fields to appear when necessary. This happens when a user selects an option from a dropdown, checks a box, or provides other qualifying inputs.

3. Field Hiding

Fields that do not meet the workflow conditions remain hidden, ensuring users only see information relevant to their input. This prevents unnecessary distractions and speeds up the data entry process.

4. Required Fields

Only required fields relevant to the user’s selections will be displayed. This ensures that users enter all essential data without having to sift through irrelevant fields.

Real-World Example: Gas Meter Inspection

To demonstrate how EpochField’s Show Intelligent Workflow Rule enhances field operations, let’s explore a utility-specific use case—gas meter inspections.

Scenario:

You are conducting a gas meter inspection, and the form needs to determine whether damage is present.

How the Rule Works:

  1. When the form loads, the category “Damage Present” is visible, with two options: Yes or No.
1-epochfield-damage-present-form-load-category
  1. If the user selects “Yes”, configurable additional fields and categories related to damage appear, prompting the user to provide details such as:
    • Type of damage
    • Severity
    • Additional remarks
2-epochfield-configurable-fields-damage-description
  1. If the user selects “No”, the damage-related fields remain hidden, allowing the user to move on to the next section.

This dynamic behavior ensures that only relevant fields are presented, making the inspection process smooth and efficient.

How to Configure the Show Intelligent Workflow Rule

Implementing this feature in EpochField is simple and intuitive. Follow these steps to configure Show Intelligent Workflow Rules for utility field operations:

1. Create a Category or Field

  • Define a category or field that should be hidden by default.
  • For step-by-step instructions, refer to the EpochField Knowledge Base.
3-epochfield-create-a-category-or-field-hidden-by-default
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2. Create a New Intelligent Workflow Rule

  • Set up an Intelligent Workflow Rule to control when fields should be shown or hidden.
  • Learn more about setting up workflow rules in EpochField’s Documentation.
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3. Define Conditions

  • Establish conditions that trigger field visibility.
  • Example: If “Damage Present” is marked “Yes”, additional damage-related fields become visible.
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4. Publish the Task Type

  • Ensure the changes are applied and published to the server.
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5. Test and Optimize

  • Conduct thorough testing to confirm that the fields appear and disappear as expected based on user input.
  • Validate that the rule improves efficiency and reduces errors in the field.

Utility Companies Trust EpochField for Smarter Workflows

EpochField’s Show Intelligent Workflow Rule is a powerful tool for enhancing form usability and efficiency. This feature helps utilities:

  • Accelerate inspections and audits
  • Ensure regulatory compliance with precise data collection
  • Improve field crew productivity by eliminating unnecessary inputs
  • Simplify complex forms for faster, more efficient workflows

Whether you’re conducting inspections, collecting survey responses, or processing applications, this feature makes forms more intuitive and user-friendly.

Ready to simplify your utility workflows?

Start leveraging EpochField’s Show Intelligent Workflow Rule today to enhance efficiency, compliance, and field operations.

If your utility isn’t using EpochField yet, contact an Epoch sales consultant to see how our industry-leading solution can transform your field operations.

Mitigating Wildfire Risk: How Utilities Safeguard Infrastructure with Workforce Management Software

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Devastating wildfires are growing in intensity and frequency across the US, creating far-reaching implications for utilities. A robust workforce management solution can help utilities protect their infrastructure from wildfires, reduce the odds of igniting or spreading fire, and respond effectively when these tragic events occur.

The Risk is Rising, and So Are the Challenges

Nearly 62,000 wildfires burned over 8.5 million acres in the US last year, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, and the fires that destroyed Pacific Palisades and other Los Angeles neighborhoods may be the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history. As climate change fuels higher temperatures and drier conditions, these events are becoming more frequent and severe. And they’re increasingly affecting regions not traditionally considered high risk, including the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states.

The rising incidence of wildfire exposes utilities to many damaging consequences. These incidents often result in outages that impair customer service, jeopardize public safety, reduce revenue, and increase operational costs.  Utilities often proactively shut off power to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by electrical infrastructure during dangerous weather conditions.  This measure, known as a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS), is implemented to prevent the electric system from becoming a source of ignition in high-risk fire areas.

Meanwhile, fires can cause extensive damage to power lines, substations, and utility poles, while the resulting smoke and ash can disrupt grid sensors. This damage is costly to repair, deflecting funds that could be used more strategically and even threatening the utility’s financial health. In fact, nearly 100 utilities have seen their credit downgraded since 2020, reducing their ability to borrow just as their costs are increasing.

As more homes are built in remote areas, wildfires threaten more lives and properties. Aging infrastructure adds to the problem, as utilities struggle to keep these assets reliable and available. In the worst case, utilities could be found liable for igniting or contributing to the spread of a wildfire, creating costly legal and regulatory compliance problems.

Utilities face a twofold challenge: how to protect vulnerable field assets from fire damage and how to reduce the odds that transmission and distribution lines could cause or spread a wildfire. Many are finding the solution in modern workforce management software.

How Workforce Management Software Addresses Utility Wildfire Risk

A mobile, map-centric workforce management solution helps utilities mitigate wildfire risks by digitally transforming, automating, and streamlining field operations. The software helps utilities improve their resilience to these destructive events and reduce the odds of contributing to them, by supporting many of the tasks needed to manage and protect energy infrastructure.

Vegetation Management

Vegetation located near utility poles, power lines, and other assets increases the risk of a wildfire breaking out, as brush is susceptible to igniting from downed power lines and airborne embers. It’s critical to maintain adequate space around these assets through proactive vegetation management. Yet, legacy systems and poor integration among disparate data sources can impede vegetation management, especially when there is limited visibility to aerial images and LiDAR.

A map-first workforce management solution eliminates those challenges by serving as a single repository of accurate, real-time data about the field assets and the state of vegetation near them. The system uses GIS technology to track each asset’s geospatial location and integrates data across sources such as drones, satellites, and mobile devices, to provide greater visibility into conditions on the ground and inform vegetation management strategies. These solutions also speed the utility’s response to identified vegetation risk by optimizing field crew scheduling and deployment and streamlining workflow.

Asset Inventory and Mapping

As a central source of real-time data about energy infrastructure, digitized workforce management software equips the utility to inventory and map those components with confidence. A modern solution makes it easy to organize assets into logical hierarchies, while integrating GIS data to ensure a complete view of the organization’s infrastructure. These capabilities enable utilities to monitor the condition of aging assets and identify opportunities to make upgrades that will mitigate wildfire risk, like switching to fire-resistant poles or adding voltage sensors.  

Asset Failure Prediction

A workforce management solution provides predictive analytics that can identify equipment and assets in need of repair or maintenance, which are more likely to trigger or contribute to the spread of a wildfire. These data-driven insights can inform automated maintenance schedules based on equipment run times, heading off equipment failures. The software also simplifies the tasks of planning, creating, and managing work orders for more efficient field service of assets likely to fail. 

Proactive Asset Maintenance

A geospatial software platform can help mitigate wildfire risks by equipping utilities with the functionality to maintain aging assets proactively, in several ways:

  • The solution syncs asset data across disparate systems, applications, and devices. As a result, field crews and the operations staff gain greater knowledge of conditions and better situational awareness on the ground as they complete proactive maintenance.
  • The system’s digital as-built capabilities ensure accurate information about the infrastructure’s current state. That enables field crews to locate assets faster and perform maintenance efficiently, effectively, and safely.
  • The software’s mobile app delivers continuously updated asset data to field crews while performing preventive or unscheduled maintenance, with offline capabilities ensuring access even when no network is available.

Efficient Wildfire Response

Utilities can leverage a single, digitized workforce management solution to optimize field crew scheduling, dispatch, and routing in response to wildfire-related incidents. By improving worker efficiency, informing the optimal resource allocation, and reducing travel time in the field, the software helps utilities tackle more emergency tasks per day and speeds power restoration.

A solution with robust mobile capabilities provides easy access to real-time data within the field, further improving the utility’s response to wildfires. By providing an accurate view of the digital as-built environment, the software improves tracking and traceability, which is critical in an emergency. And if it’s necessary to call on mutual assistance crews, workforce management software accelerates and simplifies the process of onboarding and managing temporary workers.

Asset Lifecyle Planning

A workforce management system provides the complete data view needed for effective utility asset management designed to mitigate wildfire risk across the lifecycle of equipment. GIS mapping simplifies tracking and tracing of asset condition, while easy-to-use dashboards enable operations staff to view inspection, maintenance, and repair records visually on a map. The resulting information can inform long-term asset management strategies and help utilities forecast, prioritize, and budget for capital expenditures.

EpochField: A Key Part of Your Wildfire Risk Mitigation Strategy

As wildfires grow more frequent and severe, utilities need the ability to assess and reduce their risk and protect their assets. Workforce management solutions like EpochField are helping to meet that challenge.

The map-centric, geospatial-based EpochField platform helps utilities mitigate wildfire risk by improving asset tracking and preventive maintenance, delivering predictive information about asset condition, enhancing vegetation management, and optimizing resource allocation in the field. With robust mobile functionality, digital as-built capabilities, and powerful predictive analytics, this scalable solution helps utilities stay resilient and compliant so they can deliver power reliably and safely.

Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our workforce management solution can help your utility mitigate wildfire risk. Or visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

The Right Technology Can Help UK and EU Utilities Improve Asset Management Amidst Evolving Regulations

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Utilities in the UK and Europe face a myriad of challenges in the quest to provide safe, reliable power. In the midst of escalating energy demand and ambitious climate change goals, the evolving regulatory landscape adds another layer of complexity that directly impacts utility asset management. Equipped with the right technology, UK and EU utilities can simplify and streamline compliance with regulatory requirements while meeting shifting expectations.

Changing Regulations Add Pressure on Utilities

As utility regulations evolve in Europe and the UK, the compliance function becomes more critical yet increasingly complex. Below are some of the most impactful regulatory changes affecting how utilities in the region manage field assets and maintain compliance.

  • The UK’s Renewables Obligation (RO) requires electric utilities to provide a certain number of renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) per MWh of electricity supplied. This affects providers in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Complying with the new 2025-2026 obligation requires completing critical actions by key deadlines, such as providing estimated and final data on total electricity supplied during the obligation period and presenting ROCs and/or making a buy-out payment to meet the obligation.
  • The Market-Wide Half-Hourly Settlement is expected to drive a significant smart meter upgrade (and cost savings) among millions of consumers and businesses in the UK starting April 1, 2025. While second-generation smart meters already record energy usage on the half-hour, those using first-generation smart meters will need to upgrade. As newer smart meters roll out, energy suppliers will be well-positioned to create new revenue streams and tailor products and tariffs based on energy use.
  • The EU Gas Storage Regulation mandates that gas storage facilities be filled to at least 90% of capacity by November 1, with intermediate targets set for February 1, May 1, July 1, and September 1. These requirements ensure adequate gas supply for the 2025-2026 winter season, impacting EU countries with underground gas storage facilities and those connected through the gas network.
  • To further safeguard gas supply, EU governments have extended gas demand reduction measuresuntil March 31, 2025. Initially adopted in 2022 in response to the supply disruptions and price volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this initiative aims to reduce gas demand by 15%.
  • The Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2), enacted in October 2024, is intended to reduce cybersecurity risk and enhance operational resilience, particularly for essential sectors like energy and utility services, where attacks on critical infrastructure could be catastrophic. Utilities will be required to implement stricter cybersecurity measures, improve resilience against cyber threats, and meet incident reporting requirements.

Along with these regulatory changes, utilities are striving to meet aggressive climate change and decarbonization goals. At COP29, the UK announced a goal to reduce emissions by 81% by 2035, while the European Commission aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Meanwhile, aging infrastructure is making it increasingly difficult for UK and EU utilities to meet rising demand while implementing decarbonization efforts and transitioning to clean energy sources. The adoption of electric vehicle, the expansion of cloud computing, and the increasing use of AI are all taxing the grid, fueling the need for significant modernization and upgrade projects.

Digitized Utility Field Service Management Improves Compliance

In the face of these realities, electric and gas utilities in the UK and Europe recognize that strategic, proactive asset management is more critical than ever. By leveraging a digitized utility field service management platform, they can enhance compliance, improve asset availability, and ensure worker safety and efficiency.

A map-first field service management platform helps utilities comply with evolving regulatory requirements designed to improve safety, ensure reliability, and protect the planet. The following capabilities are hallmarks of a modern field service management platform, streamlining and simplifying compliance functions:

  • Real-time Data Collection and Reporting. Complying with regulatory reporting obligations requires access to real-time data about field assets. A modern asset management platform integrates GIS and other data across disparate systems, including back-office solutions, to ensure accurate reporting. By adding a data migration tool such as EpochSync Pro, utilities can further ease compliance reporting by streamlining the process of getting GIS data into a format that enables them to use the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network. EpochSync Pro seamlessly synchronizes data bidirectionally and accurately between Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases.
  • Tracking and Tracing Capabilities. The ability to track and trace every field asset with confidence is essential to maintaining compliance. A robust field workforce management solution offers digital as-built capabilities that ensure real-time visibility of assets across the network. These solutions also improve documentation management and make it easier to maintain a complete audit trail of historical asset information.
  • Safety-Related Functionality. Improved safety is at the heart of many utility industry regulations, so an effective field service management platform must support this objective. A mobile workforce management solution provides field crews with the situational awareness to work safely based on real-time data about conditions on the ground.
  • Regulatory Updates and Guidance. A field workforce management vendor should relieve some of the compliance burden from utility staff by keeping tabs on regulatory changes and updating the system accordingly. A best-in-class vendor also shares compliance best practices, leveraging its experience across the global utility industry.

Along with enhancing regulatory compliance, a mobile workforce management platform can help gas and electric utilities meet evolving demands by improving operational excellence. In a fast-changing environment, it’s essential to leverage technology to increase visibility into field operations, improve agility, and enhance worker efficiency.

For UK and EU utilities striving to achieve these objectives, the following features should be considered essential components of a field service management solution.

  • Grid Resilience and Reliability Support. Today’s electric and gas utilities need solutions that help them deliver reliable power amidst the rising incidence of climate-driven extreme weather. The right platform supports this goal by speeding and improving outage response and streamlining incident reporting.
  • Mobile Capabilities. An increasingly mobile workforce requires the tools to inspect, maintain, and repair field assets efficiently and safely. That’s why many utilities in the UK and EU are adopting a map-centric asset management system. By equipping their crews with robust mobile apps and the ability to work offline if needed, they’re speeding and simplifying field work and improving efficiency.
  • Predictive Analytics. Modern, digitized field workforce solutions incorporate advanced analytics designed to predict failures, optimize maintenance, and provide the data operations teams need to mitigate risk.

Utilities in the UK and Europe Improve Compliance with EpochField

No matter how complex or volatile the regulatory environment, electric and gas utilities in the UK and EU have a powerful solution at their disposal: the EpochField platform.

EpochField is a map-centric, geospatial-based platform that provides the modern capabilities these organizations need to maintain regulatory compliance, while achieving the operational excellence to improve resilience against weather and other threats, enhance power reliability and availability, and meet growing demand. It’s a highly scalable and easily configurable solution that simplifies compliance through improved data visibility, access, and reporting along with robust tracking and tracing. EpochField also enhances the entire field operations function by streamlining the work, equipping mobile crews with robust capabilities, and improving data management—even across multiple legacy applications and third-party systems.  

EpochField is the flagship product of Epoch Solutions Group, dedicated to equipping utilities to achieve operational excellence, sustainable growth, and regulatory compliance. We become a true partner to your business, combining our deep utility industry expertise with an innovative, purpose-built solution that helps you meet evolving challenges.

Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our field asset management solution can help you maintain regulatory compliance and achieve operational excellence. Or visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

AI Can Transform Utility Operations—and These Steps Will Help Prepare Your Data for the Shift

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

The demand for more power—delivered reliably, safely, and with resilience—has never been greater. The growth in cloud computing and electrification is fueling demand dramatically, while extreme weather and cyberthreats are placing the grid at higher risk.

Amidst this unprecedented change, utilities are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) as powerful strategic weapons. An IBM study found that three-quarters of energy companies have implemented artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations or are exploring the idea.

Impactful use cases for AI and ML in utility operations abound. For example, these technologies can predict asset failures, analyze vegetation for heightened fire risk, detect cyber threats, improve demand forecasting based on patterns, reduce unplanned downtime, improve field crew productivity through smarter scheduling, and optimize the grid based on historical use, consumption trends, weather forecasts, and other critical information. AI is especially adept at analyzing massive volumes of data—a capability which utilities can use to spot trends that warrant action and make the most informed decisions.

Data holds the key to turning AI into an operational advantage, but siloed legacy systems and disparate data sources create formidable obstacles for utilities. The following steps can improve data preparedness for utilities that are ready to transform their operations with AI-enabled applications.

Unify Your Data Sources  

An effective utility operation depends on data from many sources, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), outage management systems (OMS), and the geographic information systems (GIS) that provide a complete view of the grid and utility network. Utilities are also operating asset management, work management, and customer information systems that may not integrate with each other—along with smart grid devices and IoT devices.

Given this complicated web of systems and data sources, it’s imperative for utilities to unify their data, integrate systems in real time, and create a single source of truth about network assets. This step is critical to leveraging AI-powered tools and solutions to their fullest.

Develop a Data Management Strategy

Another vital step in preparing for this transformation is the development of strategies for aggregating and managing the data AI will rely on to improve utility operations.  This can include meter data, historical data on grid and network performance, microgrid and islanding data, distributed energy resource (DER) data, and many other types.

Utility data management is a complex undertaking that involves tasks such as these, at a minimum:

  • Implementing a data warehouse solution ideally suited to handling utility-specific data
  • Developing data integration strategies for microgrid controllers and third-party applications
  • Establishing data-sharing protocols with DER owners and aggregators
  • Developing the necessary data infrastructure to support microgrid management and islanding operations
  • Creating a wide variety of data models, including those that enable microgrid performance analysis and optimization and others that integrate various DER types
  • Establishing scalable storage, archiving and retrieval processes for a high volume of data, along with retention policies that balance the need for historical data with the associated costs

Several specific data types require additional data management considerations. For example:

  • The proliferation of intelligent grid sensors and IoT devices requires edge computing strategies that support data streaming for real-time monitoring and integrate weather, satellite, and other data to improve resilience, while maintaining governance.
  • Gas pipeline integrity management demands the ability to consolidate inspection, maintenance, and risk management data, create quality standards for pipeline material and installation data, and facilitate the required regulatory reporting.
  • Gas demand forecasting and supply management requires effective management of historical consumption, weather, and market data, along with access to real-time gas flow monitoring and balancing information and reliable meter readings.

Ensure Data Quality and Integrity

AI algorithms demand high-quality, consistent data. Before adding AI-enabled tools and solutions, consider implementing measures for validating data on transformers, pipelines, and other assets in real time, and establishing data quality metrics specific to utility operations.

GIS data is especially vital to effective field operations, allowing utilities to model and analyze the network with accuracy. So it’s vital to implement processes that ensure GIS data is always accurate and keep data consistent across GIS and other systems. As utilities incorporate increasingly advanced geospatial data from sources like LiDAR (light detection and ranging), it’s equally important to develop strategies for integrating this information while maintaining its integrity.

Shore Up Data Governance

Operating in a highly regulated industry demands attention to data monitoring, control, and governance to ensure compliance. That’s why any strategy for incorporating AI into the utility’s operations must be grounded in a sound data governance approach.

Automated reporting mechanisms, strict data quality controls, and complete audit trails can facilitate timely and accurate regulatory submissions. It’s also critical to define ownership for every data utility type data, develop clear data standards and naming conventions, and implement catalog solutions customized to your data types and use cases. A cross-functional data governance committee that spans operational functions is vital to data stewardship.

Enhance Data Analytics for Better Operational Intelligence

A wide range of data analytics can enhance operations, providing a window into key functions like predictive maintenance, energy demand and load forecasting, demand response, and outage management. AI initiatives are more effective when the utility is better prepared to leverage these metrics.

Before moving ahead with AI full-steam, utilities should take measures such as these to improve their data analytics capabilities:

  • Aggregate and consolidate asset performance, load, weather, outage, grid topology, pricing, and operational data, along with maintenance records
  • Develop data pipelines that facilitate real-time asset health monitoring and demand response program data integration
  • Create data feeds and pipelines for real-time power outage management and restoration, along with dynamic load forecasting and pricing
  • Implement data streaming mechanisms that improve real-time grid and network monitoring, factoring in SCADA, grid sensor, and grid state estimation data
  • Integrate real-time pricing data with customer systems, while leveraging data to facilitate timely customer notification

Epoch Solutions Group: The Partner that Helps Prepare Your Data for AI

Preparing your data to leverage the power and value of AI is a complex effort. That’s why leading electric and gas utilities partner with the industry specialists at Epoch Solutions Group.

We help utilities prepare for the AI transformation through our industry-leading technology solutions and unrivaled capabilities:

  • The EpochField map-first mobile workforce management platform empowers your utility to digitally transform, automate, and streamline field service operations. This single application improves all field workflows and facilitates geospatially enabled back-office scheduling, work type authoring, and work order creation. Available on premise or as a SaaS solution, it’s the foundation you need for AI-ready data—simplifying data integration while ensuring quality and fidelity.
  • The EpochSync Pro tool synchronizes data between Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases—providing a flexible, scalable way to integrate data across multiple geospatial systems with consistency and reliability.
  • The Epoch UN Blueprint provides a structured process to speed and streamline your transition to the geospatially enabled Esri Utility Network, setting a foundation to implement AI technologies effectively across the operation.
  • With extensive expertise in geospatial software implementation, Epoch Solutions Group delivers valuable insights on managing and integrating the geospatial data that’s critical to utility-specific AI applications.
  • Our focus on the utility industry affords our team the knowledge and experience to offer tailored solutions that help prepare your data to leverage AI in utility operations.

Building the foundation to facilitate AI implementation is critical for electric and gas utilities that are ready to tackle the challenges of a rapidly changing industry and future-proof their operations. By leveraging Epoch Solutions Group’s deep industry expertise and purpose-built technology solutions, you can create an AI-ready data infrastructure, accelerate your AI transformation, and position your organization for long-term success.

Contact an Epoch Solutions Group sales consultant or visit our website to learn more.

Technology’s Vital Role in Navigating Utility Asset Management Regulations in Australia and New Zealand

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Utilities across the globe face significant challenges as they work to maintain regulatory compliance and achieve the operational excellence required to provide safe, reliable power in a volatile world. In Australia and New Zealand, electric and gas utilities must comply with a wide range of regulations that impact asset management, while evolving to meet aggressive climate change goals. The right technology can help leading utilities achieve both objectives.

Utilities Face a Demanding Regulatory Landscape

A complex web of regulations that impact safety, operations, and environmental protection all greatly influence how utilities in Australia and New Zealand manage field assets.

  • The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) guidelines cover various operational issues that impact electric utility asset management—from network reliability, efficiency, and performance, to pricing, revenue, and consumer protection.
  • The New Zealand Electricity Authority Regulations serve a similar purpose, providing guidance on grid reliability standards, establishing protocols for outage reporting and management, requiring asset management plan disclosure, and establishing an Electric Industry Participation Code.
  • On the safety front, AS 5577 sets electricity network safety management system requirements designed to ensure the safe design, construction, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of utility networks. The standard spans a range of requirements, from maintaining assets to ensure network integrity to using proactive vegetation management to mitigate brushfire risk. Similarly, NZS 7901 provides guidance on safety management systems for electric and gas utilities in New Zealand, with the goal of protecting residents and their properties.
  • For gas utilities, AS/NZS 4645 aims to ensure gas distribution networks operate safely and reliably by providing a risk-based framework for network management and requirements that span the network’s lifecycle, including design, materials, construction, testing, and commissioning. AS 2885 sets safety standards specific to pipeline design, construction, inspection, testing, operation, and maintenance.
  • The New Zealand Gas (Safety and Measurement) Regulations 2010 focuses on the safety of gas distribution systems, gas at the point of supply to consumers, and gas installations, as well as odorization and pressure management.

Along with meeting Trans-Tasman utility standards, Australian and New Zealand energy regulations, and the requirements of the Regulatory Compliance Mark (RCM), utilities in these regions are evolving to attain climate change goals. With both the Australian and New Zealand governments setting a target of net zero emissions by 2050, utilities are transforming rapidly to ensure a smooth transition. Whether they’re undertaking renewable energy projects, implementing carbon capture initiatives, or supporting the demand for electric vehicle charging, they’re adapting their operations in ways that will demand more effective field asset management, better leak detection and repair approaches, and more sustainable pipeline management.

In addition to complying with these regulations, utilities in Australia and New Zealand are continually measuring their effectiveness against industry-standard reliability metrics to ensure optimal uptime and superior service. These metrics include the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), which measures the number of hours an average customer experiences non-momentary power interruptions over the course of a year, and the System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI), which measures power interruption frequency.

Asset Management is Further Taxed in an Evolving Industry

Beyond complying with numerous regulatory requirements and meeting industry reliability standards, utilities in Australia and New Zealand are battling other obstacles that make asset lifecycle management more critical, yet more challenging.

  • Aging infrastructure creates financial and operational demands, including the need to invest in and prioritize asset maintenance and replacement and to deploy effective strategies that balance asset life extension with high performance.
  • Renewable energy demand is forcing utilities to modernize the grid to accommodate bidirectional power flows from clean energy sources, and to improve energy demand forecasting and load management.
  • Cybersecurity risks continue to grow as a smarter grid makes utilities more vulnerable to attack, requiring investments in better infrastructure protection, data privacy compliance approaches, and cyberattack response and reporting mechanisms.

A Digitized Field Service Management Platform Addresses These Challenges

As electric and gas utilities in Australia and New Zealand grapple with the difficulties of complying with stringent regulations governing safety, reliability, and environmental protection, improving field asset management becomes a must. A modern, map-first field service management platform can help utilities meet rigorous regulatory requirements while achieving the operational excellence it takes to thrive in an evolving environment.

The following asset management system capabilities greatly simplify the many operational tasks involved in maintaining compliance:  

  • Geospatial Asset Tracking. It takes accurate tracking and traceability to comply with mandated reporting requirements. A modern field workforce management solution with digital as-built capabilities enables utilities to gain real-time visibility into their assets network-wide, deliver the necessary attribute management documentation, and maintain a complete audit trail of historical asset information.
  • Real-time Data Synchronization. Accurate data is critical to demonstrating compliance, yet most utilities use multiple, disparate systems that complicate data management. The right asset management solution shares GIS and other data across multiple applications in real time, notifies operations staff of potential regulatory issues, and automates compliance reporting—improving efficiency while ensuring data integrity. Additionally, a data migration tool like EpochSync Pro enables utilities to overcome the hurdles of getting GIS data into the correct format, so they can leverage the benefits of GIS technology using platforms like the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network. EpochSync Pro seamlessly synchronizes data bidirectionally and accurately between Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases.
  • Regulatory Updates and Guidance. A vendor that provides a modern asset management platform will monitor the landscape for regulatory changes and update the system as needed, relieving the burden from the utility’s staff. The vendor will also offer compliance best practices gleaned across many similar organizations.

While regulatory compliance is a chief objective for utilities in Australia and New Zealand, it’s equally important to leverage technology that positions the organization to evolve in response to new demands. Utilities are discovering that a modern field asset management platform can help them future-proof their operations, gain agility, and improve efficiency. Capabilities like the following are must-haves for utilities committed to these goals:

  • Mobile Functionality. Today’s mobile utility workforce needs robust, easy-to-use applications that streamline asset inspection, maintenance, and repair. A map-centric asset management system provides mobile apps and digital forms that speed and simplify tasks, with offline capabilities that ensure the solution is always accessible and the work continues uninterrupted.
  • Predictive Maintenance Analytics. A digitized asset management system helps keep utilities operating reliably by using advanced analytics to predict asset failures, optimize maintenance, and inform strategies for reducing risk.
  • Features that Improve Grid Resilience and Reliability. With climate-related risks on the rise, utilities need a field service management platform that improves infrastructure reliability and resilience in the face of frequent and severe storms, droughts, and other extreme weather. A solution that integrates distributed energy resources, enhances outage management, and speeds outage response is invaluable in this environment.

EpochField: The Solution of Choice for Utilities in Australia and New Zealand

As electric and gas utilities in Australia and New Zealand grapple with complex regulations, stringent climate change mandates, and numerous operational challenges, they recognize that the right technology will position them to meet the demands effectively. Many are finding the solution in EpochField.

EpochField is a map-centric, geospatial-based platform that provides the robust capabilities a utility needs to stay compliant and resilient, deliver power reliably and safely, and meet the growing demand for sustainable power. This scalable, configurable solution provides real-time asset visibility, streamlines field operations, simplifies data management, and improves staff efficiency, while making it easier to maintain compliance amidst a complicated regulatory landscape.

EpochField is the flagship product of Epoch Solutions Group, dedicated to equipping utilities to achieve operational excellence, sustainable growth, and regulatory compliance. We become a true partner to your business, combining our deep utility industry expertise with an innovative, purpose-built solution that meets the demands of electric and gas utilities.

When you choose EpochField, you gain both a solution and a partner that will help your utility meet today’s regulatory and operational challenges and keep you agile and prepared to tackle whatever tomorrow brings.

Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our field service management solution can help your utility maintain compliance and achieve operational excellence. Or visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

How Mobile Workforce Management Will Help Your Utility Manage Weather-Related Incidents

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Extreme weather is wreaking havoc on power generation and transmission, making it difficult for utilities to supply energy reliably, efficiently, and cost-effectively. Amidst this escalating risk, leading utilities have discovered that digitized mobile workforce management can help them plan and respond to weather events by improving efficiency, optimizing resource allocation, speeding response times, and increasing resilience.

Turbulent Weather Takes a Toll

More frequent severe weather events have become the norm in the US, with the effects of climate change growing more apparent.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are becoming more intense: Witness the billions of dollars in damage caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, or the fact that Hurricane Beryl knocked out power to three million people in Texas, leaving some without power for weeks. Excessive rainfall regularly causes devastating flooding, record-breaking heat waves stress the grid while endangering lives, and wildfires are happening in many more areas, fueled by drought or near-drought conditions. Meanwhile deep freezes are touching regions known for moderate climates, leaving downed power lines and disrupted natural gas supplies in their wake. In a Utility Dive article, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. expressed concerns about maintaining the natural gas supplies needed to address extreme winter weather.

These realities present significant financial and operational challenges for utilities, making infrastructure more vulnerable to damage and outages that are costly to respond to and recover from. As a McKinsey & Companyreport noted, the utility infrastructure that dates back decades was designed to withstand historical weather conditions, which bear little resemblance to today’s weather patterns. Making matters worse, utilities that require access to water for their operations may strategically place facilities near the coast, where they are now more susceptible to frequent coastal storms.

As a result, many utilities are grappling with higher costs on two fronts: the increased expense of repairing field assets destroyed by storms, and the need to upgrade the grid to make it more resilient to such events. Coupled with the potential for significant lost revenue due to unplanned downtime, these rising expenses can lead to utility bankruptcies; at a minimum, they threaten energy delivery and service reliability. Extreme weather also presents greater operational obstacles, as it’s difficult to maintain reliable power during demand spikes caused by extended periods of excessive heat or cold.

Exacerbating the problem is a labor shortage that makes it tough to find skilled field workers, especially as the aging workforce retires. Field employees account for about half of utility workers, according to the Boston Consulting Group, and they’re central to a utility’s ability to prepare for and respond to severe weather.

 

In the face of these challenges, utilities must ensure the reliability and resilience of their services while managing the rising costs associated with infrastructure damage and operational disruptions. Many are turning to mobile workforce management solutions to address this dilemma.

The Value of a Mobile Workforce Management Solution

A digitized approach to mobile workforce management can greatly improve a utility’s ability to prepare and respond to today’s frequent, severe weather events and the related outages and damage. By choosing a best-in-class mobile workforce management solution, utilities can enhance weather resilience in several important ways:

  • Better efficiency. A digitized workforce management solution makes it easier to optimize field worker scheduling, dispatching, and routing during weather-related emergencies, reduces the associated travel time, and increases the number of tasks completed per person, per day. It also facilitates the optimal allocation of finite field resources in response to storms. Boston Consulting Group estimates that standardized, optimized workforce management can increase worker availability by 50% and reduce time needed to completed routine jobs by 25%.
  • Improved safety. A modern workforce management solution allows utilities to share vital information with field workers in real time, ensuring they have good situational awareness during emergencies to stay safer on the job. By providing a more accurate picture of the digital as-built environment, these solutions also support better tracking and traceability for utilities, improving safety during emergencies.
  • Enhanced communication. A workforce management platform facilities effective communication by providing real-time data for utility field workers during extreme weather, helping them complete tasks efficiently and restore power faster. When a catastrophic storm requires bringing in mutual assistance crews, the right solution makes it easier to onboard and manage these temporary field workers.
  • Streamlined data collection and dissemination. A workforce management solution that incorporates a robust mobile app is especially valuable, enabling workers to access and upload critical data right from the field.
  • More informed decision-making. Through real-time data and analytics, a modern workforce management solution enables utilities to predict potential weather-related outages with greater certainty, so they can take proactive action. Real-time data also improves the field asset damage assessment process, leading to better decisions about repair prioritization.
  • Reduced costs. By mitigating the need for repeat trips and the associated administrative work, a mobile workforce management solution can lower the cost of responding to extreme weather events. And since it alerts the operations staff to the need for proactive maintenance based on predictive analytics, it can improve maintenance work scheduling and avoid costly unplanned downtime.

Other Strategies for Improving Weather Resilience

In addition to the measurable benefits of a digitized workforce management solution, several other strategies can help ensure reliable power in the face of escalating weather-related risks. Adapting your operations to withstand climate change is a must for any utility committed to protecting vulnerable infrastructure from extreme weather and improving grid resilience.

For example, many utilities are developing microgrids that decentralize power generation by creating resources that can function separate from the centralized grid, making any single source less vulnerable to weather-related failure. Leading utilities are also adding advanced battery storage systems that improve the backup power capacity needed during outages caused by weather or other problems, mitigating the effects and improving service.

A variety of other strategies can improve the grid’s ability to endure the risk of frequent severe weather. Replacing wood transmission and distribution poles with those made of storm-resistant materials like steel or concrete, elevating infrastructure components, building flood walls, and moving power lines underground can reduce the grid’s susceptibility to weather-related damage or failure. 

The digitization of mobile workforce management has emerged as a critical strategy to help utilities navigate extreme weather challenges. As more utilities focus on climate change adaptation, many are choosing EpochField: the modern workforce management solution that digitally transforms, automates, and streamlines field service operations. By leveraging a data-driven, digitized workforce management solution like EpochField, utilities can enhance operational efficiency, improve response times, achieve optimal resource allocation, and deliver power reliably to customers in the face of climate change-fueled weather events. 

Contact an Epoch sales consultant to learn how our mobile workforce management solution can help your utility overcome the challenges of extreme weather. Or visit our Utility Operations Resource Center for valuable insights and resources from the utility experts at Epoch Solutions Group.

Streamlining Utility Infrastructure: The Rise and Importance of Digital As-Built Systems

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

The digital transformation of the utility industry is progressing rapidly, driven by escalating energy demand and the need to modernize the grid for greater capacity, reliability, and resilience. This evolution is touching every aspect of a utility’s organization, including field operations.

As utilities strive to provide field crews with accurate, real-time data about assets and infrastructure, digital as-built solutions are becoming a vital component of their technology ecosystems. And solutions like the EpochField map-first workforce management platform are leading the way in delivering the digital as-built capabilities that premier utilities need to thrive.

What’s Driving the Need for Digital As-Built Solutions?

A utility’s as-built environment can differ significantly from the design documents as changes occur during and after construction. Utilities traditionally attempted to update as-built records manually—continually redlining paper-based construction packets and distributing new versions. Even after investing in geospatial information systems (GIS), many utilities have continued to use a manual workflow that creates mapping backlogs and stretches already-thin staffs. It’s a slow, laborious, inefficient process that inevitably yields inaccurate information.  

Yet, to do their jobs effectively, field crews need to know the exact location, condition, and history of the assets they inspect, maintain, and repair. From pipelines and electrical lines to transformers and water mains, high fidelity asset data is a must. Without it, the risks to the organization are significant: Slow response to outages, maintenance work backlogs, inefficient resource use, and low customer satisfaction.

This reality is encouraging leading utilities to adopt digital as-built solutions, generating a map-based, dynamic, digital representation of the utility’s infrastructure and other field assets as they exist today.

A digitized as-built record is much more than an electronic version of a paper document, as digitized data is transformed in ways that create tremendous value. Data is collected in real time where the work is occurring, so it’s accurate and reliable. The as-built record is comprehensive, providing critical context by combining documents, GIS data, photos, and other details on both existing and newly installed assets. And since the digital as-built system is typically cloud-based, data is readily accessible, free of siloed legacy system constraints.

Digital As-Built Solutions Transform Field Operations

For field technicians, the difference between paper and digital as-builts is substantial. Manual records don’t provide the spatial intelligence they need to quickly locate assets, and inaccurate or incomplete records leave gaps that hinder their work. It’s especially problematic when time is of the essence, such as during power restoration activities. In contrast, digital as-builts provide field crews with timely, accurate information about the current state of the utility’s infrastructure, so they can locate assets faster and approach their work with reliable data.

By implementing digital as-built solutions, utilities can manage field assets from a position of greater knowledge, equipping field technicians to perform their work efficiently, effectively, and safely. A best-in-class digital as-built solution transforms field operations by delivering six key benefits:

  • Real-time Data. Field workers are more productive when they have instant access to real-time asset information, including visualizations like GIS-based maps. Digital as-built systems empower them to make faster, more informed decisions when performing maintenance and making repairs.
  • Better Accuracy. Digital as-built solutions eliminate manual data entry and the resulting errors. Field workers can approach each task with confidence, knowing they have an accurate, up-to-date representation of the field infrastructure.
  • Improved Safety. Inaccurate information about their environment can place field workers in harm’s way. A digital as-built system reduces risk by ensuring field workers are fully informed of hazards, changes, safety protocols, and other essential information.
  • Faster Response. Digital as-built systems improve collaboration and information sharing among field workers, engineers, and office staff, enabling them to respond more quickly to an outage or other emergency and coordinate effectively on large, complex projects.
  • Cost Savings. By eliminating repetitive manual tasks and speeding the process of updating as-built records, a digital solution reduces field operation labor costs.

Digital As-Built Systems Improve Tracking and Traceability

Utilities must be able to track and trace every asset from the time it’s installed through its operational life and eventual decommissioning, including its movement, condition, upgrade, and maintenance. Proper tracking and tracing is integral to effective asset management—both reactive and proactive—and it’s vital for maintaining regulatory compliance.

Digital as-built systems make tracking and traceability significantly easier by providing better visibility into every asset throughout its lifecycle, noting every change made over time.

  • When assets are affected by outages and other events, digital as-builts arm field crews with the historical information needed to speed restoration efforts and provide responsive customer service.
  • When traceable data is paired with advanced analytics, utilities gain data-driven insights that enable teams to make informed decisions to improve asset management.
  • When utilities need to demonstrate tracking and traceability for compliance purposes, digital as-built systems provide easy access to detailed, fully auditable records of all field activities.

As technology continues to advance, digital as-built capabilities will evolve and further improve. Generative AI is likely to have a major impact, especially when it comes to making massive data sets understandable and usable. With high fidelity data becoming even more integral to utility field operations, utilities will look to their vendors to incorporate AI and machine learning to empower field crews and office-based staff to make better data-driven decisions.

EpochField: The Complete Digital As-Built Solution for Field Operations

Today’s utilities can’t afford to struggle with outdated asset data that reduces field crew efficiency and jeopardizes their safety. That’s why many are implementing the EpochField map-first workforce management system—an industry-specific solution purpose-built to address the evolving challenges of a dynamic utility industry.

EpochField transforms as-built documentation for utility field workers, streamlining operations, improving efficiency, and enhancing customer service. This digital as-built solution delivers the spatial intelligence that field crews need and seamlessly integrates with legacy utility solutions and other enterprise applications, performing real-time updates that ensure high fidelity data. It enables the organization to continuously monitor assets and infrastructure, providing the tracking and traceability capabilities that are essential to effective asset management and regulatory compliance.  And it’s easily configurable and scalable to meet the needs of any sized utility, from small-scale to large infrastructure networks. 

Contact an Epoch Solutions Group sales consultant or visit EpochField to learn more.

Mastering Your Esri ArcGIS Utility Network Implementation: Top Five Considerations from Epoch’s Esri-Certified Professionals

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

With power demand increasing dramatically and energy reliability challenged by extreme weather, your utility network has never been more mission-critical. But traditional networks make it difficult to manage large and complex data sets with high integrity, and they don’t deliver actionable insights for effective decision-making.

These realities are leading many utilities to move to the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network. This modern framework transforms utility asset management, operational efficiency, and network analysis by making it easy to manage complex networks with high fidelity and scalability.

The Esri UN-certified professionals at Epoch Solutions Group have successfully deployed many large-scale Utility Network projects, so they know how to achieve a smooth transition that empowers utilities to reap all the benefits. They’re also the team that delivers our Epoch UN Blueprint: an end-to-end service that combines a structured process, tailored data models, and best practices to complete your deployment quickly and efficiently. Our experts leveraged their deep experience to share the top five considerations for mastering your Esri ArcGIS Utility Network implementation.

1. Determine Your Level of UN Data Readiness

The data readiness assessment is arguably the most critical component of any successful Utility Network implementation. The Utility Network enforces a strict set of rules for data preparation, making this assessment essential, regardless of the current state of data quality. Although this task may seem overwhelming, leveraging industry-leading tools and expertise will transform it into a streamlined process that enhances data integrity. In turn, end users will have confidence in their data being Utility Network-ready from day one.

Below are some of the key checks that should be conducted as part of the readiness assessment:

  • Functional and attribution drivers for asset group and asset types
  • Geometry errors
  • Stacked lines and points
  • Connectivity analysis
  • Source data attribution errors

An effective data preparation process will help lead to an efficient data modeling and migration process. Whether you take a phased approach to your migration or migrate the data all at once, tools like Epoch Sync Pro greatly simplify an otherwise-complex process. This powerful, scalable data migration tool seamlessly syncs data bidirectionally and accurately from Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores/other GIS vendors and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases, even on massive databases.

2. Take Time to Tailor the Data Model Effectively

To get the most benefit from the network you’ll need to customize the data model to reflect your assets, operational practices, infrastructure, workflows, and regulatory requirements.

For example, an electric utility that’s evolving to incorporate renewable energy sources will need to create custom asset groups for solar panels, wind turbines, or smart meters. A gas utility will need to set up asset groups and types that distinguish transmission lines from service lines or reflect gas-specific equipment such as compressor stations and odorization facilities.

The flexibility of the UN data model is a pro and a con: You can tailor it exactly to your needs, but that can feel overwhelming. Several best practices will smooth the process:

  • Conduct a workshop with key stakeholders—including GIS specialists, field crews, and engineers—to define your UN objectives and data requirements.
  • Take inventory of your assets and attribute data to determine what needs to be incorporated and identify gaps.
  • Utilize commodity-driven data models designed by Epoch Solutions Group to specifically adhere to your business needs and workflows.
  • Test the model on a sample dataset for functional and structural validity and adjust it based on the results.
  • Keep the model as simple as possible for ease of maintenance yet scalable to accommodate additional assets or network expansion.

3. Carefully Configure and Validate the Network Topology

The Esri Utility Network includes tools that help you establish network rules to suit your operation. For example, connectivity rules define how different assets connect within the network (such as a transformer connected to a feeder line), while containment rules define how one asset is contained within another (such as cables within a conduit).

You’ll also need to validate that the network topology complies with the rules you’ve established. This process points out errors, like a missing asset connection or containment relationship. You can correct them using the ArcGIS Pro editing tools and adjust the network rules if they’re too restrictive. Though it’s critical to validate network topology rules prior to implementation, periodic validations are vital for maintaining network integrity.

4. Optimize Network Performance and Scalability

Achieving a high-performing, scalable network is a key objective of your Utility Network deployment. To reduce the impact of dataset size and complexity on network performance, use simpler geometries where feasible and generalized presentations for high-level data views. To keep your hardware and infrastructure from hindering UN performance, be sure your servers meet or exceed Esri’s recommended requirements and your infrastructure can handle the data transfer demands.

For a network that’s scalable and future-proof, plan for growth in your data volume and number of users, as well as increased application complexity over time. A modular design will enable you to add new components without major overhauls, and a cloud-based platform will allow you to allocate resources flexibly and reduce costly on-premise hardware.

5. Build in Training and Change Management

You need to equip end users to work within the new network proficiently, understand the workflows, and maintain data accuracy and integrity. It’s vital to build their knowledge and skills in both the ArcGIS Pro software and the Utility Network’s features. The training will be most useful if it’s role-specific: GIS analysts need to understand data modeling, topology rules, and network analysis, field crews need to know how to use mobile applications to collect data, and managers will primarily use the reporting tools.

As with any change, you might face resistance when moving to the Utility Network. Take time upfront to explain the rationale and how it will benefit different stakeholders, and involve end users in the project planning to create buy-in. A phased implementation rollout is helpful too, as it allows end users to adapt gradually. Offer them convenient ways to provide feedback and report technical issues, and make sure your support team is equipped to provide accurate, responsive help.

A successful Esri ArcGIS Utility Network implementation requires careful planning and expertise. That’s why it’s important to have an experienced, Esri-certified professional as your guide.

Our Epoch UN Blueprint takes you from planning through execution, step by step, with Esri UN experts handing all the technical details and leading you through a successful migration. This turnkey service speeds and streamlines your Utility Network deployment through a structured, proven process—so you can start reaping the benefits of this enterprise solution sooner.

Contact a sales consultant to learn how the Epoch UN Blueprint can help you migrate quickly and seamlessly to the Esri Utility Network.

EpochField Updates Reflect the Utility Industry’s Evolving Needs

Posted on by Ciara Tobin

Today’s utilities are under greater pressure than ever. Electrification is rising dramatically thanks to accelerating AI use and electric vehicle adoption, creating a pressing need to expand and modernize the grid. Climate change is driving major, costly decarbonization efforts while threatening energy reliability. And skilled labor remains difficult to find and retain, creating workforce capacity constraints.

Epoch Solutions Group recognizes the challenges your utility faces in delivering safe, reliable, cost-effective energy. We’re committed to keeping our EpochField workforce management solution in sync with your dynamic needs—not only responding to customer feedback and requests, but anticipating the future of field service management.

This year we released a major EpochField update along with several minor updates as part of our drive to continually enhance this mission-critical solution for leading utilities. Here’s a recap of the invaluable features we added or enhanced in the latest EpochField 5.2 versions, designed to streamline field service operations, improve the efficiency and productivity of your crews, dispatchers, and schedulers, and equip you to deliver the level of service your customers expect.

A More Intuitive Mobile UI/UX for Better Efficiency

In sync with the industry’s shift toward mobile-first solutions, we redesigned the EpochField mobile app for better mobile workforce management. A more intuitive interface makes the app simpler for field workers to use and navigate and more engaging—a major benefit at a time when it’s tough to stay fully staffed and you need to accomplish more work with fewer people. Our app facilitates streamlined workflows, enabling field crews to complete work order-related tasks faster and easier using a mobile phone or tablet for a better overall experience.

.NET Maui Migration for Improved Performance

The migration from Xamarin to the .NET Maui (Multi-Platform App UI) platform accomplishes two important objectives: It improves cross-platform performance when your field crews use EpochField on Apple, Android, or Microsoft mobile devices and ensures you can maximize the value of the latest app development technologies. By taking a forward-thinking view, we’re future-proofing EpochField to provide a solid foundation for developing more mobile capabilities that work across platforms.

Work Order Process Improvements for Greater Productivity

EpochField now includes many enhancements that help your teams process work orders more efficiently. We enhanced the solution’s data collection capabilities to reduce administrative steps, simplify data entry, reduce the risk of data errors, and streamline workflow.

  • Self-managed work order creation: EpochField now allows your field crews to initiate and manage the creation of ad hoc work orders themselves by uploading CSV files through the mobile app, using asset data IDs or geographic coordinates. They can organize their own work and complete routine inspections and other jobs without waiting on external dependencies that risk slowing the process.
  • Improved editing of multiple work features: Utility field crews can use the solution’s lasso tool to precisely choose work features for editing just by clicking on the map. This tool makes it easier to select and edit tasks individually or in bulk, improving accuracy, efficiency, and oversight. The newest software version also allows end users to delete work features individually or in bulk through the main form, further saving time.  
  • Better workflow form flexibility: An improved workflow forms layout is more intuitive for your field workers to use, guiding them logically as they complete the form. By combining Categories and Fields on the same form, and enhancing the Workflow Bulder with simple drag-and-drop functionality, we’ve made it simpler to create and use workflow forms.

State Model Functionality for Better Control

Many EpochField users expressed a need to better control field work order statuses. In response we introduced state model functionality that provides clearer workflows and better operational visibility across the EpochField platform.

Other EpochField Enhancements

In addition to these major functionality enhancements, EpochField now provides improved icons, particularly in the Print tool, to further improve the user experience. And of course, we’ve continued to prioritize the security of our platform by applying critical security patches as they become available.

Evolving in Sync with Utilities

EpochField is transforming field service management for leading utilities—streamlining how your teams work, improving efficiency from the front line to the back office, and empowering you to provide safe, reliable services to your customers. Our map-first approach leverages the power of GIS data to improve your field operations, supporting you as you evolve your business model to address the trends that are reshaping the utility industry.

By continually enhancing EpochField with updates that reflect customer input and industry trends, we’re adding the innovative capabilities you need today while keeping one step ahead of the future of field service management.  

Learn more about the EpochField  workforce management solution or schedule a live demo.

Picture of Shane Hullinger

Shane Hullinger

Shane Hullinger is the Epoch Solutions Group Director of Product Management for EpochField, responsible for shaping the product and leading cross-functional teams to execute strategies, embark on impactful market research, and refine the customer experience.

How the Esri Utility Network Transforms Utility Data Management

Posted on by Epoch Solutions Group

EpochSync Pro Facilitates Migrating Data to this Powerful Network

As utilities grapple with escalating challenges in a complex and dynamic environment, many are looking to solutions like the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network to simplify data management while ensuring integrity, even across massive data sets.

“Throughout our 15-year relationship with Esri—and now as an Esri Gold Partner—we’ve worked together to identify and solve utilities’ needs, especially by integrating Esri technology with our own suite of solutions,” noted James Street, Epoch Solutions Group CEO. “With the need to manage and integrate data becoming both more challenging and more critical for utilities, we see great value in helping our customers leverage powerful tools like the Esri Utility Network.”

We recently tapped Esri Product Manager Saranya Kesavan to share insights on how the company’s next-generation ArcGIS Utility Network is helping to improve data management amidst transformative change.

New Challenges Make Data Management Vital

Grid modernization has become a high priority across the utility industry, especially as electricity demand rises in response to the shift to clean energy, increased electric vehicle adoption, and a rise in data center power usage to support cloud-based applications. The increase in electricity demand is redefining the power load and tasking utilities with improving energy supply and reliability, according to Kesavan.

“It’s all placing a lot more demand on the grid,” she said. At the same time, climate change is fueling more frequent and severe storms, resulting in more power outages that require utilities to respond quickly and efficiently and maintain high customer satisfaction.

“Challenges like these make a utility’s network more mission-critical than ever, while making data management essential yet more difficult,” Street pointed out. As utilities strive to improve this function, many are moving to the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network.

Setting the Foundation

The ArcGIS Utility Network serves as a system of record that captures data on all utility assets in detail, ensuring that any applications built on the platform can readily access the data required. According to Kesavan, Esri’s network management solution as it is today has evolved over the last 20 years in lockstep with technology advancements.

“Esri’s initial geometric network was robust at the time, but the technology and the industry have changed significantly,” she said. The then-current technology which the network was built on presented inherent limitations, particularly at a time when utilities often maintained data in multiple, disparate applications that didn’t provide a holistic view or enable access to timely, accurate information.

“For example, field crews often lacked real-time information about changing conditions, especially data from downstream applications like their outage management system,” she explained.

As both the technology and the industry’s needs evolved, the Esri network did too. “We considered how utilities are now organizing their data, the workloads they’re managing, and how to future-proof the model,” Kesavan said. With the retirement of Geometric Network, Esri created a next-gen utility network on the ArcGIS Pro mapping and visualization platform.

Integrity, Scalability, and Productivity Top the List

Esri built its new ArcGIS Utility Network to address three common and interrelated needs of today’s utilities: data integrity, network scalability, and network management productivity.

“By using a services-oriented network, utilities can spend less time on tasks like controlling who can access and edit data, improving productivity without sacrificing data integrity or security,” Kesavan said. At the user level, the network restricts data access based on login credentials, while at the network level, rules fire off dynamically as data is edited, triggering error messages that reduce the odds of inputting bad data.

“The network rules can control what type of transformer can connect with what type of conductor,” she explained. “The goal is to ensure the Utility Network is robust and stable, and that it identifies any workflows with potential to corrupt the organization’s data set.” With data volumes growing rapidly within most utilities, the highly scalable network is designed to reduce the strains of day-end processing, ensuring data is clean, up to date, and pushed out to every downstream application, even when large volumes are involved.

The Esri ArcGIS Utility Network also facilitates moving from manual workflows to automated workflows that speed and streamline work, improve accuracy, and leverage the value of digitized data. “For example, rather than draw up a rough sketch of a field installation and send it to GIS team, field crews can capture that information digitally,” Kesavan said.

Managing data in a dynamic environment demands that the utility’s staff has a clear, accurate view of what’s happening in the field at all times. Esri’s Utility Network aims to provide that view through a highly detailed network model and built-in visualization tools that remove visual clutter while keeping data within reach. “Each user can choose the level of detail they need to see,” she said, while authorization measures ensure data security.

Additionally, end users and system administrators can utilize dashboards with embedded awareness of the utility network topology and associations. “Utilities are customizing these dashboards to gain a better understanding of what’s happening in their network at any given time, through a single system of record,” Kesavan explained. The more applications integrated, the more holistic the view. “That enables utilities to identify trends, gather insights, develop mitigation plans to solve problems, and work proactively to prevent them.”

Solving the Dilemma of Getting Data Into the Network

One of the impediments to using the Esri Utility Network is the challenge of migrating data from GE Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores and other GIS databases that store utility transmission and distribution GIS data. Since the data models involved vary significantly, it isn’t always easy to port the data over.

“As more utilities look to leverage the Esri Utility Network for map-based applications like emergency operations management, outage management, and streetlight management, we recognized that the data migration need was becoming more pressing,” Street said.

That’s why Epoch Solutions Group developed EpochSync Pro, a GIS data migration software tool that simplifies the migration of GE Smallworld data to Esri. EpochSync Pro helps utilities harness the full power of the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network by providing a seamless way to synchronize data bidirectionally and accurately between Smallworld Version Managed Data Stores and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise Geodatabases, even for large data volumes. “We specifically wrote this tool in the ArcGIS Pro SDK to fully leverage the value of the network and the ArcGIS functionality on behalf of our utility customers,” Street said.

EpochSync Pro is part of the Epoch Solutions Group suite of solutions, helping utilities leverage the power of GIS data to transform field operations. Contact Epoch Solutions Group to schedule a demo of EpochSync Pro, or contact Esri to schedule a demo of the Esri ArcGIS Utility Network.

BC Hydro Successfully Leverages the Power of GIS Technology from Multiple Providers

Posted on by Epoch Solutions Group

Electric utilities face unprecedented challenges in today’s dynamic and quickly evolving energy landscape. Navigating the complexities of adapting to changing regulations and standards, exceeding higher consumer expectations, upgrading legacy IT systems and aging infrastructure, addressing technology constraints, meeting the ever-increasing demand for energy, confronting extreme weather patterns and moving away from fossil fuel sources, all while delivering reliable and affordable electric service, present utilities with an array of hurdles.

In response to these daunting obstacles, utilities are investing in grid modernization, transitioning to renewable energy sources, focusing on effectively navigating regulatory pressures, and engaging with customers in new ways.

For BC Hydro, generating and delivering electricity to 95% of the population of British Columbia, Canada, involves 30 hydroelectric plants and a network of more than 80,000 kilometers of power lines that transport power across a varied terrain. Ensuring reliable service to more than five million customers in this demanding environment requires ready access to robust GIS data.

Since the utility’s GIS information for transmission and distribution resided in GE Smallworld, the organization sought more tools to work with that data effectively.

Read more on Electric Energy Online >

5 Trends That Will Impact Utilities in 2024

Posted on by Epoch Solutions Group
The environment that utilities operate in is more complex and volatile than ever, with significant forces impacting the ability to plan effectively and meet every stakeholder’s needs. James Street, CEO of Epoch Solutions Group, reviews the five trends he believes will have a major influence on utilities in the coming year.

1. Climate risks and electrification are stressing the grid.

More frequent and severe storms have become the norm and are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. While hurricanes have always been a concern, convective storms, extreme heat, and wildfires are also on the rise, placing more pressure on the grid. For example, a McKinsey report forecasts that by 2030, Minnesota will see a 75 percent rise in extreme heat days and Colorado will see a 29 percent increase in severe thunderstorm frequency. Almost 90 percent of the western US could experience as many as 30 high Fire Weather Index days annually. And persistent droughts are making it tougher for thermal and hydroelectric utilities to ensure reliable power. With much of the industry’s infrastructure assets well beyond their intended lifespan, extreme weather also becomes more difficult to respond to, resulting in more temperature-induced power line losses and longer power interruptions. The electrification trend and rising data center power use are likewise stressing the grid in ways we couldn’t foresee just a decade ago. As consumers and businesses adopt electric vehicles and favor electric heat pumps, electricity demand is escalating. And as AI, blockchain, and cloud computing become more prevalent, they’re driving up data center power consumption. With seasonal load profiles changing and electricity demand rising, utilities face greater pressure to ensure grid reliability and performance. In this disruptive environment, field asset management and vegetation management become more difficult yet more critical, demanding digitized, flexible platforms that enable utility staff to complete these tasks efficiently and accurately.

2. Grid planning is becoming more complex.

A dynamic and volatile environment will continue to complicate holistic grid planning that’s designed to manage growth, improve reliability, and enhance resilience. For example, dispersed and aging infrastructures, outdated technology, changing regulations, and evolving risks all make it more difficult to plan and manage field assets effectively. That includes assessing and monitoring asset health and risk, managing vegetation risk, and deploying field resources optimally, both for proactive, scheduled work and emergency situations. The increase in bidirectionality is only adding to grid planning complexity. Millions of devices at the edge—including solar panels, electric vehicles, and smart thermostats—are now participating in power generation and impacting grid behavior. This trend will make it more vital, though more complicated, to model and manage utility assets in the context of rising risks, changing customer behaviors, and aging assets. Enhanced modeling and asset management solutions will prove increasingly critical, especially to help field crews work optimally during regular operations and mutual assistance scenarios. With access to real-time information about live and offline assets, utilities can improve asset management planning by empowering field crews with accurate data and enhanced situational awareness.

3. New government policies are posing new requirements for utilities.

While government policy always has the potential to impact utility operations, two of the latest rules from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will likely require utilities to meet new requirements for ensuring gird reliability. One such rule directs the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop a standard around transmission system planning for extreme heat and cold weather conditions. Another requires power transmission providers to report on their policies and processes for conducting extreme weather vulnerability assessments and identifying strategies to mitigate these risks. In addition, several energy policies aim to advance smart grid technology that has the potential to help electricity distributors reduce costs, improve reliability, and meet the challenge of balancing supply and demand. Though there are significant benefits to be realized, developing and implementing smart grid technology will require major capital investments. Many utilities are already moving ahead with smart grid systems that employ two-way communication and intelligent devices, aided by various US Department of Energy grant programs.

4. Government investment is facilitating the clean energy transition, but risks and challenges will remain.

Renewable energy adoption is increasing rapidly, now accounting for about one-fifth of US total power. With world leaders agreeing to new climate goals at the recent COP28 summit, that figure is set to rise significantly. Governments worldwide are providing financial incentives to ease the energy transition for power companies, with the US alone committing billions through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IRA extends and modifies key tax credits for renewable energy investment and production, funds the acceleration of new energy infrastructure siting, and incentivizes carbon capture, while the IIJA is funding infrastructure modernizations that support clean energy expansion and improve resilience. Despite such financial assistance, along with the opportunity that the clean energy transition offers come a host of challenges for utilities. Renewable energy sources can be intermittent, yet consumers and businesses demand stable, reliable power. New energy sources take time to scale, but power demand is rising dramatically. The ability to plan effectively during this critical transition will require enhanced systems and better access to data that can help utilities make informed decisions about deploying and optimizing assets amidst change and unpredictability.

5. The digital technology transformation is helping utilities tackle emerging challenges.

Many utilities are finding that the transformation to digital technologies can help them meet new challenges, address emerging requirements, and adapt to continued change. In particular, they’re shifting away from legacy systems to more flexible and integrated platforms that support new ways of working. The move to cloud-based solutions, GIS-based applications, and digitized field service workflows, along with the integration of disparate systems and data sources, is helping leading utilities leverage data and technology to transform their operations and meet new challenges head-on. In modernizing their technology infrastructure and applications, utilities are prioritizing use cases that demonstrate the greatest tangible value. For example, a geospatial software platform that syncs asset data in real-time across disparate systems, applications, and devices can yield high ROI by giving operations and field teams the visibility and situational awareness to work more efficiently and safely. These digitized platforms also provide access to the data needed to prevent the disastrous consequences of unmanaged vegetation impacting power lines brought down by extreme weather, as well as inspect and manage joint use assets like poles, wires, and circuits to reduce costs and avoid redundancies.

Why Utilities Are Partnering with Epoch Solutions Group

Leading utilities recognize the value of partnering with a solutions provider that can help them meet new requirements and challenges at a time of great change and uncertainty. For many utilities, that partner is Epoch Solutions Group. Our EpochField solution leverages geospatial technology to help utilities improve field asset management, reduce costs, and minimize breakdowns and outages. This geospatial workforce management platform is empowering utilities across the US to meet reliability requirements, enhance safety, ensure power availability, and maintain compliance in a volatile environment. Schedule an EpochField demo to see how this solution can help you meet emerging challenges.
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