Utility Applications of GIS Mapping

    Utility companies include water, electric power, and natural gas companies. Utilities also map their solar, wind, telecommunication, and geothermal assets with GIS. Each of these types of companies has considerable infrastructure in the form of pipelines, metering stations, power distribution lines, poles, transformers, compressor stations, pump stations, power or gas transmission lines, electrical substations, city gates with gas letdown generators, and much more. In towns and cities, this infrastructure is mostly in the form of distribution lines and individual meters. A large city can have a very geographically dense network of distribution lines that go to each structure. When any of these components need to be found and examined for things like assessing health, repair, or replacement, they are best mapped out digitally by entering their exact locations into GIS databases.  

     Presentation of data in a geospatial format that conveys the information most useful to the project at hand is the goal of GIS mapping. Industry-standard software like Esri’s Arc GIS Pro or QGIS can be powerful tools to this end. ArcGIS Pro has a query engine that can quickly provide the specific information needed for a given map. The graphics tools can make maps very presentable at any scale.

     Data acquisition in the field may involve onsite GPS with an app such as ArcGIS Survey123 or the data may be acquired aerially, typically by drones (UAVs). Drones can record data via photogrammetry or LiDAR technology and GIS can put it into a usable topology. LiDAR is the most accurate way to record the data in 3D or xyz format. Drones and GIS can replace or complement traditional land surveying depending on the project needs. A key capability of accurate and thorough GIS mapping for utilities is avoiding and minimizing environmental impacts. The high degree of accuracy of acquired LiDAR data that can penetrate land cover to delineate land use and topographical data is important for environmental applications. Things like flooding potential and spill simulations can be informed by such mapping. Simulations and projections can be utilized for planning future upgrades and expansions and can inform cost management. One goal here is to avoid unforeseen issues to construction that can increase costs. Underground utility mapping especially requires great accuracy so that safety issues are avoided. Another benefit of GIS mapping is improved efficiency. Optimization of the utility networks is the ultimate goal, including the optimization of system resiliency.

     Location is a main feature of all utility networks. Companies need to know where the outages are, where customer behavior is changing, and where their network is vulnerable. In ESRI’s ebook, 'Digitally Transforming Utilities', they traced the development of the maturity curve of digital information systems. This model proposed a digital progression, or maturity pathway, from systems of record to systems of engagement and then to systems of insight. The model was developed in the 1990s and utilized by IBM and other companies. GIS allows utilities to migrate to a real-world model of their assets, share this location information with relevant stakeholders, and to utilize analytics for planning, prediction, problem-solving, and better overall understanding.

 

 

Source: ESRI: Digitally Transforming Utilities

     Comprehensive GIS software like ArcGIS can be easily integrated with data analytics tools such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Systems of record involve data management and integration. Systems of engagement involve sharing, collaboration, and dissemination. Systems of insight involve analytics, models, and data exploration. A system of record is mostly transferring paper maps to digital maps. Digital maps have better accuracy and many more capabilities. A system of engagement is the sharing of data so that collaboration and interaction can be optimized in a company. It allows people working in the field or from home to upload, collate, and analyze data just as if they were at the office. This enables and optimizes mobility. It can help people in the field to be more efficient in their work. A system of engagement involves the development of platforms like location-based dashboards that can be information hubs for those working for a utility company. Those dashboards were very useful during the COVID pandemic, enabling methodologies like contact tracing. It is unquestionable that GIS, once implemented and once made accessible and understandable by all relevant stakeholders, reduces work times by streamlining processes and by making relevant geospatial data instantly available. A system of insight enables analytics that can find hidden information in the data. New patterns and relationships can be discovered. This can be very important for enabling new processes and new ways to solve problems. Other locational data such as SCADA systems and Internet of Things (IOT) sensor devices can be integrated into GIS. The mantra ‘location, location, location’, enabled through GIS can mean better business intelligence. Below is an example of an ArcGIS screen with geospatial utility data.

Source: ESRI: Digitally Transforming Utilities

 

     A comprehensive GIS system can optimize safety and compliance, customer engagement, asset management, operations management, and design and engineering. Knowing the location of hazards, enabling instantaneous information to customers, enabling better asset inventory and how those assets relate to other entities, enabling operational efficiency, and enabling risk reduction through a single seamless comprehensive GIS database can mean improvement of many metrics from safety to employee satisfaction to customer satisfaction to company profitability. ESRI notes that GIS enables a geographical approach to problem-solving and enables science-based decision-making. Regarding this geographic approach. ESRI contends:

     “GIS is increasingly becoming interconnected between the desktop, the cloud, enterprise servers, apps, and portals. This ecosystem of interconnected components is about streamlining collaboration.”

     “This ecosystem is called geospatial infrastructure. It enables and supports the geographic approach. It is the sum of all the parts coming together as new technology, for which portals provide support. It helps utilities organize and integrate the distributed services to bring people together.”

Such a comprehensive framework integrating desktop and mobile technologies means that problems can be prevented and solved faster when they occur.

 

“The geospatial infrastructure enables spatial analytics. This includes spatiotemporal analysis; robust interactive visual analysis; and graph analysis, which involves geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI), a new family of tools used for looking at relationship patterns. GeoAI and other intelligent tools allow access to vast collections of big data and raster analytics in the cloud.”

    

     The availability of new and improved imaging technologies such as remote sensing, new modeling technologies such as 3D digital twins, and new formats such as GIS hubs can be very useful for company optimization goals. A better informed and better location-enabled work force can be more efficient and more innovative.

     ESRI also offers their ArcGIS Utility Network oriented specifically to utilities. This setup enables better analytics, better presentation of data analysis, better data editing, and better data visualization. The result is better overall data management.

 

 

GIS and Utility Planning Case Study from Clallam County, Washington

 

     A May 2024 study of enhanced utility planning in Clallam County, Washington by the Smart Electric Alliance demonstrated the importance of combining data from other sources and agencies to inform planning. In this case, the socioeconomic data of local residents was considered and integrated. The study noted that GIS can aid “distribution planning, customer initiatives, and grant pursuits, offering a nuanced understanding of service territories for targeted improvements that serves as a learning opportunity for many public utility districts (PUDs) in the Pacific Northwest and utilities nationwide. The initiative can set a precedent for utilities to leverage geospatial data analysis to meet the complex demands of the 21st century, ensuring that energy systems are resilient, reliable, and equitable.”

     The methodology used in the study involved five stages: 1) data collection and review, 2) data sources and criteria, 3) GIS integration and tool development, 4) analysis and strategic planning, and 5) leveraging the mapping tool for grant applications. In the data collection and review stage data was gathered from the public utility district and from state and federal databases. Specifically, data relating to energy equity, environmental justice, and utility infrastructure was collected from relevant databases. Data sources included census information, demographic studies, and relevant data from the U.S. DOE and the U.S. EPA. Requirements for state and federal grant applications were also examined. This data was combined with existing GIS data for local utility distribution systems and organized into a user-friendly platform. The goal was to identify “vulnerabilities, underserved communities, historical outages, critical customers, and investment opportunities.” Tool development involved integrating the multiple data layers into a single interactive platform that enabled “detailed visualization and analysis of the utility’s infrastructure within the broader context of socio-economic and environmental factors.” Customizable views and data filtering were also enabled. This new integrated GIS system allows for better strategic planning of future distribution system investment that considers equity, system resilience, areas prone to outages due to aging infrastructure, and critical customers that meet federal and state grant eligibility criteria. The Clallam County Public Utility District is now better enabled to write grant proposals based on the integration of GIS data and socio-economic data. Target grants include “the U.S. DOE Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant Program and various initiatives under the Washington State Department of Commerce aimed at clean energy, grid resilience, and equity enhancement.” The overall goal was to identify areas where the need is greatest so that funding can be justified. The map below shows a hypothetical project location derived from the integrated data.

 

 

     The project also assessed the potential environmental impact of future upgrades by integrating data related to “land use, proximity to protected areas, and potential impacts on bodies of water, floodplains, and endangered species.” The study was focused on reducing outage times for critical customers such as hospitals, public water, city administration, police, and firefighter services, especially in disadvantaged communities. It identified where resilience enhancements are most needed in the network of substations and feeders. Reducing service restoration times for all citizens, especially critical customers, through predictive analytics can now be better achieved through proper reliability investments. Future projects may include improving infrastructure upgrades, community engagement programs, and emergency response strategies. The map below, though not zoomed enough to really examine, shows some of the results.

 

     This study shows the value of GIS for strategic utility planning. The paper also addresses the importance of continuous monitoring and improvement through GIS-based statistical analysis:

“By regularly updating the public data sets and integrating into their in-house GIS systems, utilities can ensure that they remain responsive to emerging challenges and opportunities. In this specific project, SEPA developed an in-house version that Clallam County PUD is currently using and the utility plans on updating the datasets as necessary to continue to maintain the tool in-house.”

 

   

Geospatial Analytics: Integrating Multiple Data Sources for Safety Awareness and Asset Health Awareness

     Geospatial analytics, a key technology system of insight, as discussed above, can yield very useful and practical benefits. Oil and gas companies are using it to monitor infrastructure. According to an article in Pipeline and Gas Journal by Sean Dinegan, President and CEO of Safelytics, geospatial analysis “allows for multispectral and hyperspectral imagery, gathered from satellites, UAVs, planes and fixed cameras, to be analyzed in a process that ultimately can provide both alerts and qualitative results for oil and gas companies.” Real-time information from the field and continuous digital monitoring enables analytics to find trends and optimize both safety awareness and asset health awareness. Hazards can be identified quickly, and potential problems can be prevented. AI can be a part of geospatial analytics, improving monitoring capabilities.

     Oil and gas assets from the upstream and midstream sectors especially, are often spread out over large areas, sometimes in remote or difficult terrain. Methane leaks can be located quickly through these technologies and changes in rates of leakage can become better understood. Analytics can be used to find smaller leaks that may get bigger over time. In one kind of geospatial analytics, methane measurement algorithms are used to detect and measure methane plume concentrations and flow rates. This can help with early detection and be integrated with alert systems.

     Infrastructure monitoring is especially challenging for pipelines since they can be spread over hundreds of miles. Pipeline leaks often start small and grow over time. Technologies such as SCADA systems are not able to detect smaller leaks. Early leak detection has the potential to prevent life-threatening and costly accidents. Geospatial analytics with AI can analyze very large amounts of geospatial data, particularly aerial and satellite data, to predict and detect leaks. Algorithms can help to quantify the leaks. The bottom line is improved safety and better asset health.  

References:

Introduction to ArcGIS Pro for utilities. August 6, 2019. Video. Bing Videos

GIS Mapping for Enhanced Utility Planning: A Clallam County PUD Case Study. May 2024. Smart Electric Power Alliance. SEPA_Clallam-County-PUD-Case-Study.pdf (sepapower.org)

Why GIS is Critical to Utility Mapping. Land Point. December 7, 2021. Why GIS Is Critical to Utility Mapping | Landpoint

Digitally Transforming Utilities.  A Comprehensive GIS. Electric and Gas Utilities. ESRI. comprehensive-gis.pdf (esri.com)

Geographic Information Systems: Some History, Some Thoughts, and What's New. Kent C. Stewart. Blue Dragon Energy Blog. April 26, 2020. Blue Dragon Energy Blog: Geographic Information Systems: Some History, Some Thoughts, and What's New

ArcGIS Utility Network: A next-generation system for utility management. ESRI. ArcGIS Utility Network | Spatial Information Management System for Utilities (esri.com)

Geospatial Analytics: Predictions, Trends, and A.I. Applications for Pipeline Management. Sean Donegan. Pipeline and Gas Journal. June 2024, Vol. 251, No. 6. Geospatial Analytics: Predictions, Trends, and A.I. Applications for Pipeline Management | Pipeline and Gas Journal (pgjonline.com)