Schneider Electric Unveils Software Aimed at Improving Utility Response to Wildfires and Severe Weathe

Schneider Electric today introduced a series of software updates designed to help utilities better prepare for and respond to grid-disrupting events such as hurricanes, ice storms, and wildfires. The company also highlighted enhancements to its geospatial and operations management platforms to improve coordination across planning, transmission, and distribution teams.

Schneider’s latest updates build on its One Digital Grid Platform, an architecture that links risk modeling, situational awareness, and operational workflows. The platform brings together internal Schneider systems—such as distribution and DER management—with partner technologies for weather, vegetation, and asset health assessments. The intent is to give control rooms earlier warning of emerging hazards and to streamline the transition from prediction to operational action, including switching, inspections, and public safety power shutoffs. The platform provides insights from partners including Microsoft, AiDASH, Technosylva and Neara to enhance risk modeling and emergency response.

Ruben Llanes, CEO of Schneider’s Digital Grid business, said utilities worldwide are grappling with faster-moving and higher-impact events. “Utilities need to see risk sooner, coordinate decisions across teams, and restore service safely,” Llanes said, noting wildfire-prone regions in the western U.S. and Europe as early adopters of predictive workflows.

Coordinating Across Transmission and Distribution

A major component of the release is an update to Schneider’s Energy Transmission Operation (ETO) software, which supports modeling and coordination across transmission and distribution systems. Utilities have been seeking tighter T&D integration as renewable generation and distributed energy resources complicate power flows and resilience planning. Schneider said the refreshed platform also reflects evolving regulatory expectations around situational awareness and operational reliability.

The company also rolled out enhancements to its web-based ArcFM GIS platform, used by utility planning and emergency response teams. The new release emphasizes shared network context and data consistency across departments, a long-standing challenge during major events when control rooms, field crews, and restoration planners operate on different timelines and information sources.

Together, the products are designed to present the grid as a common operating picture—an approach Schneider says can reduce delays between hazard forecasts and field action, and shorten restoration for complex events.

Extreme Event Readiness Remains a Priority

Utilities have been reexamining event management practices as wildfire and severe weather risks increase. Winter storms across the United States in January, along with escalating wildfire seasons in the West, have led to more sophisticated PSPS decision frameworks, greater reliance on modeling, and new expectations for coordination between emergency response agencies and grid operators.

Schneider said its platform now integrates:

• predictive risk modeling from live weather and vegetation data,

• automated inspection and dispatch workflows,

• real-time situational awareness through distribution management and DER systems,

• asset performance data to support prioritization, and

• digital-twin simulations tied to current grid conditions.

SF₆ Phase-Out Drives Attention to Switchgear Modernization

Separate from the software announcements, regulatory changes are also influencing grid investment decisions. California will begin restricting new purchases of switchgear using sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) in 2025, accelerating interest in air-insulated alternatives. SF₆ is a potent greenhouse gas widely used in medium-voltage equipment. Utilities are evaluating replacement strategies that meet both resilience needs and compliance timelines. Schneider’s AirSeT line is among the emerging SF₆-free options using air-and-vacuum insulation.

The company expects wildfire mitigation, storm resilience, and decarbonization mandates to continue shaping utility modernization strategies in North America and abroad.