As extreme weather becomes more common, utilities become more skilled at predicting and reacting to events. However, even the best and most reliable models can be off, the most trusted equipment can fail, and the best backup plans can fall through. A confluence of these breakdowns can leave utilities – and their customers – scrambling to cope.

Crisis Can Occur Despite the Best Preparation

A perfect storm of these failures occurred in, well, a perfect storm, in North Carolina on Christmas Eve of 2022. The utilities had done their best to prepare, following several models closely and verifying their equipment.  But as temperatures fell faster and more dramatically than the weather models had predicted, carefully laid plans fell apart. Unusually cold temperatures impeded the operation of several nuclear plants and froze instrumentation lines at three separate power stations. Power demand was especially high, as stores and homes were bringing their Christmases to life. Previously agreed-upon purchases of power from neighboring utilities fell through, as those companies suddenly had no spare power to sell. 

“Extreme weather has worsened across the country in recent years, with California regularly experiencing some of the worst of it,” said DataCapable’s CEO and Co-Founder Pete DiSalvo. “With this being our new normal, even the most well-thought preparedness plans can fall short and have unintended operational consequences down the line.”

In order to avoid an uncontrolled loss of the system, the utility company began derating their plants and instituted rolling blackouts. 

Then it got worse. 

An automated load shedder failed, forcing crews to manually reduce the power loads. High winds created storm damage that caused tens of thousands of customers to lose power apart from the rolling blackouts. As this situation became more complex, the energy company had no efficient way to notify its customers.

Communicating When Power is Out

Customers woke up on Christmas Eve morning to cold houses, with no warning and no way of finding out when their power would be restored. Communication is key in emergencies; without it, the uncertainty creates frustration, if not panic.

One family, upon waking to a house without power and not knowing when it would be restored, raced out and bought a generator, power cords, and a heater. With no explanation of the outage and no time frame for recovery, the family wanted to be prepared. “I am definitely frustrated at the lack of communication,” said the customer. If the family had known that their power would be back on in eight hours, they could have just waited it out.

“During an extended power outage, communication is the key to maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders and customers throughout the community,” said DiSalvo. “With Community Portal, we empower our Partners to take proactive steps to strengthen these relationships in the communities they serve.”

Communicating During the Restoration Process

Restoring power on that Christmas Eve was no simple matter. Discerning which outages were from storm damage and which were from the rolling blackouts made it difficult to determine which lines could be safely turned back on. The process was laborious. And customers remained uncertain about when their power would be restored.

“For widespread outage events, seeing is believing,” said DiSalvo. “Community Portal’s ability to visualize where outages are occurring helps our Partners respond to them and restore service faster.”

The DataCapable Platform Provides Timely, Effective Communication

No matter how well you prepare, you can’t predict everything. You can, however, be prepared for the unpredictable. The right tools will allow you to adapt, mitigate, and respond rapidly. 

The DataCapable Platform was designed to support utility companies in exactly these types of scenarios. Our Outage and Event Map enables administrators to add or overlay layers of real-time data to inform constituents of events happening in their community. You’ll get every data point you need to empower your community and customers with situational awareness. And the Community Portal provides a communications platform to keep personnel and customers informed about response and recovery in real time.

If you’d like to be more prepared for the unexpected, reach out to us for a free demo or to talk with our team.