Utilities require a spatially enabled technology infrastructure on which their operational, customer, and decision support systems can leverage the information they have about their assets, employees, customers, and relationships. Utilities need access to information from the office, the field, or anywhere the user may be. In addition, they need solutions that are scalable, supporting work for individuals, work groups, and the entire enterprise. GIS lets utilities organize, manage, and distribute geographic information culled from various databases while maintaining data integrity and focusing on project direction.

This issue of ArcNews focuses on the experiences of some of the solutions that GIS provides to utilities around the world. In the Republic of Senegal in West Africa, GIS is at the forefront of rural electrification efforts. In Brazil GIS simplifies the workings of an electric utility's service territory of 3,550 square miles and 53,000 customers. The fifth largest supplier of electricity and natural gas in the United States has embarked on a major new GIS venture. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, GIS is helping replace a worn sewer pipeline that drains a highly developed and densely populated land.

Please visit www.esri.com/electricgas and www.esri.com/waterwastewater for more information.