This paper will discuss the development of PG and E's Gas Operations GIS and the various applications that are critical to gas transmission operations and maintenance. The discussion will include 1) management and development issues within PG and E, 2) the impact that this GIS has had within the department and company-wide, and 3) the integration of Oracle, MicroStation, GPS, ArcInfo, and ArcView. One of the Gas Operations applications will be demonstrated. It is a customized ArcView application that is used in conjunction with the Underground Service Alert program. This application uses a coordinate designated by the user to define an area and identify facilities within the area, as well as produce a map providing the user with information for fieldwork.
Seattle City Light has made an intensive investment in its GIS database. Information from this database, normally derived for cartographic production, is given new life as part of a simulated model which analyzes City Light's primary distribution system. The ability to integrate the database design of the GIS to a vendor's turnkey software design is of great benefit, but is a highly challenging task. In comparison to developing an application proprietary to its own GIS, City Light determined that exporting data to a distribution analysis software package is a much quicker and cost-effective solution. The development of applications to extract, manipulate, relate, and format GIS data for a software package can only do so much to simulate a real-world scenario. The software requires detailed information for each distribution system component. Assumptions are made upon available data, electric utility standards, and software development limitations where they occur. The benefits of automating updates to the distribution analysis software database helps ensure the design engineer that data is as timely and exact as what exists in the GIS. The electrical design engineer becomes more productive, and the distribution system benefits from an implementation of a highly efficient, computer-assisted electrical design.
Electric utilities have been around for over 100 years, but changes are always occurring. Some changes are due to deregulation and others due to technology. Due to change the utilities Electric GIS object types and associated information needs also change. This paper presents a database design which allows new object types and associated information needs to be configured dynamically as needed. Changes to the database structure and or software are not required.
As regulatory agencies seek to improve air quality through legislation requiring zero-emission vehicles, Southern California Edison (SCE) is aggressively preparing for the eventuality of increased numbers of electric vehicles (EV's). Introduction and widespread use of EV's throughout SCE's service territory could potentially produce significant impacts on the electrical distribution infrastructure. SCE is currently developing methods and technologies that will enable Edison to anticipate and proactively design the distribution infrastructure to support the expected introduction of EV's within the service territory. Chief among the tools being developed is a geographic information system (GIS) that allows for the incorporation of a comprehensive EV purchase behavior model, electric load forecasting methodology, and an EV charging site optimization model. Data yielded from these models may then be further integrated with electric utility infrastructure data, and other cartographic data bases to create a powerful locational decision support system that will enable infrastructure planners to set sound and defensible policy with respect to generation planning, distribution engineering and planning, as well as small area or service planning (Morales, 1995).