A case study in implimplementing the next generation of integrated geospatial soluated solutions
Carlos L. Cruz
AIRe Program Manager
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
Office 215, State Road 838 Km 151
Bo Monacillos, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico 00925
David E. Mulder
PREPA AIRe Program Manager
Intergraph Utilities
Introduction
This presentation describes the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority AIRe Program, a
case study in implementing the next generation of geospatial solutions.
PREPA: The acronym for the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, also known by it's
Spanish equivalent of Autoridad de Energia Electrica de Puerto Rico (AEE).
AIRe: The name of the integrated resource management system project and is
derived from the Spanish Administración Integrada de Recursos.
The AIRe Program provides powerful information tools to manage increasingly complex
engineering and administration issues, enabling PREPA to provide better service to
customers while streamlining work order management and dispatch functions in the
field. The highly independent systems support outage management, geographic
information, and work management processes - yet these systems are completely and
seamlessly integrated to share geospatial information across the enterprise. Systems
within the AIRe Program integrate with PREPA's financial, materials, and customer
service systems, creating a complete Geospatial Resource Management (GRM)
environment.
Maximum benefits of technological solutions can only be achieved when you have
eliminated "all" of the paper, enter data only once at the source, and distribute
information electronically to those who need it. While the AIRe system is not yet fully
deployed, PREPA has already eliminated much of the paper and duplicate data entry in
the engineering and construction processes.
This presentation describes the AIRe system, discusses some of the business
processes and the benefits PREPA expect to achieve from this strategic project.
Background>
PREPA serves approximately 1.4 million customers across the entire island of Puerto
Rico, which covers 3,459 square miles with a population of 3.6 million people.
Approximately 71% of the population lives within urban communities; the remainder live
in rural areas. Puerto Rico's size, geography, and weather conditions present PREPA
with unique challenges.
PREPA's transmission and distribution responsibilities are divided into seven regions
containing twenty-seven districts. The center portion of Puerto Rico is very
mountainous, with peaks up to 4,390 feet, and many small winding roads. Some towns
on the island are not well organized - for example, the same street address may be
used more than 20 times in one town, causing difficulty for field crews to locate facilities.
A yearly hurricane season is a constant challenge in Puerto Rico. In 1996, Hurricane
Hortense caused extensive damage and cost PREPA customers $22 million in electric
facility repairs. In 1998, Hurricane Georges, the worst hurricane in recent history,
caused $213 million in damages to PREPA with a loss of electrical services lasting from
days to months throughout the island.
Deregulation and ineffective work processes forced PREPA management teams to
evaluate their options. As a result, the utility reviewed and revised its business
processes to address the impending changes and to work more efficiently. A facilities
information mapping system could easily pinpoint its customers and assets, while an
outage management system could maintain the operational status of the distribution
network. After a head-to-head evaluation of the world's major GIS, WMS, and OMS
vendors, PREPA realized a major reengineering effort was required. As a consequence,
PREPA turned to Intergraph Utilities and their partners, Severn Trent Systems and
Analytical Surveys, Inc. for a fully integrated Geospatial Resource Management (GRM)
solution.
AIRe Program
The AIRe project, awarded on December 22, 1998, includes three major integrated
computer systems including Intergraph's G/Electric software for the Geographic
Information System (GIS) and InService for dispatch and Outage Management (OMS).
The STORMS Work Management System (WMS) is provided by Severn Trent Systems.
Field Inventory and Data Conversion will provide a brand new digital facilities database
for all of PREPA's transmission and primary distribution facilities in Puerto Rico. The
landbase, consisting of high resolution planimetric and orthoimage data on which the
facilities data overlays, is a new digital landbase obtained from CRIM, a Puerto Rican
government agency.
