{"id":1356602,"date":"2021-12-02T08:25:12","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T16:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1356602"},"modified":"2025-09-26T09:31:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T16:31:34","slug":"implementing-the-arcgis-utility-network-for-your-facilities","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/utility-network\/electric-gas\/implementing-the-arcgis-utility-network-for-your-facilities","title":{"rendered":"Implementing ArcGIS Utility Network for your facilities"},"author":7521,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23771,25741,23051],"tags":[565442,762182,763102,687141,23101],"industry":[],"product":[515312],"class_list":["post-1356602","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-3d-gis","category-electric-gas","category-water","tag-arcgis-utility-network","tag-data-migration","tag-electric-and-gas-utilities","tag-utilities-and-telecommunication","tag-water-utilities","product-utility-network"],"acf":{"short_description":"Exploring multi-domain networks in the Utility Network.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The various Utility Network Foundation packages available at ArcGIS Solutions<\/a> offer the ability to jumpstart your network model of assets and configurations for distribution and transmission utilities, but what about plants such as power generation.\u00a0 \u00a0Those facilities are complex systems with integrated and dependent networks that are required for successful operations.\u00a0 Last year I was asked; what do I do if I want a utility network, but I have infrastructure that\u2019s not represented in a foundation package for the various utilities.\u00a0 In this specific case, the utility wanted to create network diagrams from a simple utility network that represented their critical assets for the plant cooling network.<\/p>\n

Cooling systems are utilized in power generation to provide optimal steam regulation and turbine speeds, the excess heat is offloaded through pipes, pumps, and valves from the turbines to the towers.\u00a0 In many cases, those systems of pipes, valves, and coolers are represented for operators using schematics, sometimes hand-drawn.\u00a0 The ability to model that infrastructure in geographic space enables crews to have a greater understanding of hazardous workspaces and clearances for repair equipment (especially with the ability to project assets into the z-plane for 3-d renders).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1381522,"id":1381522,"title":"Basin Plant","filename":"Plant.jpg","filesize":139886,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/utility-network\/electric-gas\/implementing-the-arcgis-utility-network-for-your-facilities\/plant","alt":"Basin Electric simulated generation plant","author":"7521","description":"","caption":"","name":"plant","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1356602,"date":"2021-10-25 14:26:41","modified":"2021-12-02 14:20:21","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1244,"height":435,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","medium-width":464,"medium-height":162,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":269,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","large-width":1244,"large-height":435,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","1536x1536-width":1244,"1536x1536-height":435,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","2048x2048-width":1244,"2048x2048-height":435,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant-826x289.jpg","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":289,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Plant.jpg","wide_image-width":1244,"wide_image-height":435}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

——-Modeling plant configurations————<\/p>\n

In this simple configuration, my goal was to build something quick but stable. While putting this demonstration together, my primary objective was to create a good schema of information that could be used to build a network diagram that represented critical assets.\u00a0 I was not worried about terminals (more about that later), controllers, or subnetworks and had no intention to provide directionality in the network that could not be configured using a trace parameter.<\/p>\n

Now that I have that out of the way, let\u2019s get back to the specific customer request that prompted the demo.\u00a0 The primary objective was to model the cooling infrastructure for a power plant.\u00a0 The customer provided me with an example schematic detailing the cooling systems for one of their plants.\u00a0 I could tell from a quick review of the schematic that many of the devices performed some type of action, things like valves, pumps, condensers, motors, or monitors.\u00a0 All of these \u2018things\u2019 could be added as asset types to preexisting asset groups already modeled in the template, I just had to add rules to connect the devices to pipes.<\/p>\n

I was able to use existing pipe types to model cold water vs hot water pipe configurations and could use tees or connectors to model connection points.\u00a0 In just a few hours, using base map imagery of one of their local power plants, I had constructed a geographic representation of arrayed features that could be pushed into a utility network and diagrammed.\u00a0 This experience of using the foundation package as a starting point was much less painful than attempting to build a utility network from the ground up with an entirely new set of specific asset groups and asset types plus it gave me the chance to take this sample and build a more realistic model.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1381532,"id":1381532,"title":"Basin Cooling Plant Diagram","filename":"Diagram.jpg","filesize":76581,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/utility-network\/electric-gas\/implementing-the-arcgis-utility-network-for-your-facilities\/diagram-3","alt":"Representation of a utility network configured cooling plant diagram","author":"7521","description":"","caption":"","name":"diagram-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1356602,"date":"2021-10-25 14:32:05","modified":"2021-12-02 14:19:47","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1174,"height":455,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram-213x200.jpg","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","medium-width":464,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":298,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","large-width":1174,"large-height":455,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","1536x1536-width":1174,"1536x1536-height":455,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","2048x2048-width":1174,"2048x2048-height":455,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram-826x320.jpg","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":320,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Diagram.jpg","wide_image-width":1174,"wide_image-height":455}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

This model started with a water network to support cooling assets, I then added transmission lines and substation components with the help of Group Templates.\u00a0 For transmission lines, Group Templates enable the placement of the individual conductor, attachment points, or shield wire.\u00a0 For substations, Preset Templates from Selected Features can provide standardized assemblies of transformers, protective devices, and other elements that can be configured to represent substation configurations.\u00a0 Leveraging templates, other complex systems can be built for rapid and effective prototyping, in this example templates were helpful to build the startup generation fuel as a natural gas turbine.\u00a0 Of course, these configurations are very simple, but the point is to show that these networks could be utilized at all levels of fidelity.\u00a0 What’s really amazing here, is that the foundation templates from ArcGIS Solutions<\/a> are adaptable to most utility configurations.\u00a0 If they don’t have specific assets or elements, they can be added.\u00a0 For more information regarding building utility network configurations, I strongly recommend attending the course Configuring Utility Networks in ArcGIS<\/span><\/a> by Esri Training.<\/p>\n

Finally, because this network was built using Utility Network Version 4 which supported nonspatial objects, I added a communication network to support the remote meter (AMI) and operational devices (SCADA).\u00a0 In this case, I had no intention of using subnetworks nor controllers, but I did add rules that would enable the creation of cross-domain associations.\u00a0 For example, I used junction-junction connectivity associations to connect operational devices for water cooling to communication receivers and to connect electric supply devices to cooling pumps, compressors, and chillers.<\/p>\n

Before I go any further, it’s important to take a step back and delve into a bit more detail to note how all these new domains were applied using empty foundation template asset packages.<\/p>\n