{"id":4178,"date":"2015-01-28T07:58:58","date_gmt":"2015-01-28T15:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/?p=4178"},"modified":"2015-01-28T07:58:58","modified_gmt":"2015-01-28T15:58:58","slug":"knowing-when-your-lights-will-come-back-on","status":"publish","type":"insider","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/insider\/knowing-when-your-lights-will-come-back-on","title":{"rendered":"Knowing When Your Lights Will Come Back On"},"content":{"rendered":"

Knowledge is power. Does your utility have enough of the right spatial intelligence?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMore information is always better than less.\u201d \u2014 Simon Sinek<\/a>, Author
\nSinek would never agree that \u201cless is more.\u201d The author went on to describe the value of more information: \u201cWhen people know the reason things are happening, even if it’s bad news, they can adjust their expectations and react accordingly,\u201d Sinek stated. \u201cKeeping people in the dark only serves to stir negative emotions.\u201d
\nWhen I worked for a power company, it was my job to make sure people were not in the dark\u2014literally. When people were out of power, we figured out why: A snow storm had drizzled ice on the power lines. Or some drunk had crashed into a utility pole. Or else some stupid (now dead) squirrel had climbed onto the lines and forgotten that his tail was a very nice conductor.
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\nYet when people called the power company\u2019s call center, the customer service representatives on the other end often kept callers in the dark\u2014figuratively and literally. The reason was, and often still is, because the industry can\u2019t always answer the question, \u201cWhen will my lights be back on?\u201d
\nWhy is that? It\u2019s because the utilities themselves don\u2019t have enough information.
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\nLess Information Is Never More<\/strong>
\nSomeone in the power company might have a pretty good answer. And eventually, the power company will have the answer. But when the customer calls, the power company just doesn\u2019t have the right processes in place to access the right information right away. In cases of widespread power failure, they need to get lots of information and fast. They have some<\/em> information. Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI<\/a>), for instance, can link to Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS<\/a>) to paint a pretty clear picture of how many customers are out of power and where they are. However, the utility still can\u2019t answer that simple yet profound question: \u201cWhen will my lights be back on?\u201d
\nTo answer that question, the power company needs to know four critical facts:<\/p>\n