Time slicing the outage [power systems]

Outage management is a function of any electrical utility and has been carried out since the first electrical wires were strung. It is a very important business process comprised of interactions between a number of departments, people, and functions. These interactions form an outage lifecycle that can be tracked from initial customer call to power restoration. A better understanding of this lifecycle and where it touches the customer, the control room, and the crews will help utilities focus their energy and dollars on getting the right system in place. This understanding will also help utilities identify potential bottlenecks in their systems and know where to apply precious resources. This paper presents an example of how utilities can analyze their work processes. This paper goes on to show how work force management is an important element of outage management and vital to the integration of customers, control rooms, and crews.