ABILENE, Texas – March 10, 2009 -- Blue Grass Energy, Nicholasville, Kentucky, was one of many utilities devastated by the recent ice storm. Over a 10-day period, Blue Grass Energy worked non-stop to restore power to more than 30,000 of their members suffering from power outages.
Mike Williams, Senior Vice President of Blue Grass Energy, said his company lost power to almost two-thirds of our members during the most crippling winter storm they have ever experienced.
"We had to effectively manage our own Blue Grass Energy line crews as well as over 250 additional crew members from other utilities who provided assistance. Safely managing that number of personnel, while ensuring the most effective prioritization of resources, can be a daunting task."
Using Milsoft's DisSPatch Outage Management System made all the difference in the world, he says. His company recently accomplished a post storm review and used a comparative ice storm that occurred in 2003, to measure effectiveness. The utility did not have DisSPatch OMS during the 2003 storm.
"The comparative results were amazing," he said. "Contrary to the 2003 storm, we knew in a much shorter timeframe the extent of both damage and member outages and consequently knew we needed a lot of extra help much sooner. The expedited request for additional crews directly impacted our ability to expedite restoration. Coupled with the accurate depiction of outage areas in DisSPatch OMS, we were also able to far more effectively prioritize our restoration crews, concentrating on restoring members in densely populated areas."
He said every metric that was evaluated was enhanced by having DisSPatch: communication flow, safety, damage reporting, prioritization of personnel and materials, reporting to external agencies, and most importantly, time to restoration. Lastly, he said Milsoft's support team was outstanding.
"We asked for some very unique assistance during the storm, specifically requesting an additional OMS server to be configured for meter on/off analysis, and they responded immediately. Amazing.”
Milsoft has worked with the Blue Grass Energy team for many, many years, said Wayne Carr, CEO, Milsoft.
"Large-scale outages, although unfortunate, are a reality, and we are proud of our ability to provide the DisSPatch Outage Management System and the associated benefits,” he said
About Milsoft Utility Solutions, Inc.
Milsoft has supplied software solutions to the utility industry for more than 20 years. Milsoft clients include more than 1,000 rural electric cooperatives, municipalities, educational institutions, and consultants both in the United States and abroad. To find out more, start here: www.milsoft.com.
