Distribution analysis in a GIS environment
Arthur Fedoruk
Salt River Project, 1521 N. Project Drive
Tempe, AZ 85281-1298
Robert W. de Mello, William E. Schwinghammer
Power Technologies, Inc.
P.O. Box 1058, Schenectady, NY 12301
Introduction
The Salt River Project (SRP) is one of Arizona's largest electric utilities and water providers. SRP
serves more than 700,000 residential, business and industrial customers with electric power
throughout a 2,900-square-mile area in central Arizona. The electric side of SRP is a political
subdivision of the state of Arizona. In response to an increasingly competitive business
environment SRP is moving toward integration of data and management functions through the use
of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). SRP, as are many other electric utilities, is placing
increased emphasis on controlling operating costs. The functions typically supported by GIS
systems, work management, outage management, inventory and asset control reduce operating
costs by providing personnel with timely information that results in increased accuracy, efficiency,
productivity, and communication.
Taking this philosophy one step further, SRP has implemented an integrated solution of distribution
analysis that addresses the most common concerns of distribution operations and planning namely
voltage, loss, and overload. Future extensions will address concerns in the areas of quality,
protection, and reliability.
For many years, analytical tools have been used for planning, and to some extent operation, of
distribution systems. These tools include load flow calculation, short circuit calculation, and various
optimizations that assist in determining network configuration, equipment settings, or equipment
siting. The increasing use of GIS has provided a common database from which these analytical
tools can automatically extract the information they need. Thus, the analytical tools have evolved
from stand-alone programs with manually collected data to stand alone systems with automatic
links to an enterprise wide database.
This paper describes a new approach that more fully integrates the analysis functions themselves,
rather than only links to data, into the enterprise wide systems from which data is obtained. This
further evolution of analytical functions goes beyond making tools readily available to directly
addressing engineering concerns. The tools can be relegated to a less prominent role by
automating frequently performed tasks and streamlining complex tasks, thereby shifting focus from
the tools themselves to the problem at hand and its solution. The reasons for doing this are
twofold. First, this approach makes maximum use of network data that has been painstakingly
collected and verified. Second, the approach allows staff to improve productivity by permitting them
to recognize and solve problems within the familiar framework of their GIS rather than forcing them
to master numerous independent applications.
