{"id":577910,"date":"2025-08-07T19:52:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/?post_type=blog&p=577910"},"modified":"2025-08-07T19:52:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T19:52:52","slug":"gis-powered-precision-at-great-river-energy-fault-location-transformed","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/blog\/articles\/gis-powered-precision-at-great-river-energy-fault-location-transformed","title":{"rendered":"GIS-Powered Precision at Great River Energy: Fault Location Transformed"},"content":{"rendered":"
Great River Energy (GRE), a not-for-profit electric cooperative serving Minnesota and parts of the Midwest, provides reliable and affordable energy to more than 700,000 people. As a cooperative owned by its members, the organization is deeply committed to operational excellence, environmental stewardship, and community service. In an industry rapidly evolving with new technologies and increasing demands for efficiency, Great River Energy continues to stay ahead by investing in innovative tools and strategies.<\/p>\n\n
A recognized leader in applying geographic information system (GIS) technology, GRE has embraced Esri solutions to transform how it manages infrastructure, responds to emergencies, and plans for the future. GRE\u2019s forward-thinking use of spatial data empowers teams across the organization, enabling smarter decisions and stronger connections with the communities it serves.<\/p>\n\n
CHALLENGE<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
Ten years ago, GRE faced an operational challenge with its traditional fault location process. System operators relied on measuring on the screen in GIS to estimate the location of a fault along the transmission lines. This method required measuring these distances based on predictive relay data from the EMS historian and manual measuring tools in the GIS system. This worked well for many years, but operators were looking to automate this process to locate the fault locations faster, more accurately, and have the ability to correlate lightning strike data into it to help identify causes for momentary outage.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cSystem operations approached the GIS department and asked if there was a way we could help improve the efficiency of their fault location process, as the current process was kind of cumbersome and time-consuming. So we put our heads together to come up with a solution.\u201d Jeff Grussing, Manager of GIS Development and Technology at GRE.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
Staff from system operation and GIS departments met and identified the tools and data that could be used to create an automated solution.<\/p>\n\n
SOLUTION<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n
To address the inefficiencies of manual fault location, GRE implemented a GIS-based solution that automated the entire process. By leveraging linear referencing, also known as measured routes, the new system can accurately trace and display the fault locations on the transmission system based on the relay data. It also incorporates lightning strike data from the weather provider to help identify possible causes of momentary outages.<\/p>\n\n
GRE\u2019s IT development staff developed a custom widget and server object extensions that integrate the organization\u2019s EMS data historian and GIS, enabling near real-time access to relay information. Now, when a fault occurs, the GIS tool quickly interprets the relay data and traces to the distance provided, then visually marks the probable fault location on a digital map. This enables system operators to quickly direct crews to precise locations without relying on manual measurement. The result is a faster, more accurate response that saves time, reduces operational costs, and improves customer reliability.<\/p>\n\n
“Leveraging GIS\u2019s many capabilities, we were able to automate multiple processes, including capturing data directly from the EMS historian, providing precise fault locations, and correlating lightning data. The GIS application enabled rapid decision making.\u201d Mark Peterson, Director of System Operations at GRE<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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