Infrastructure protectionNew method for predicting storm damage
The United Illuminating Company (UI), an electric company based in New Haven, Connecticut, has announced that it will be adopting a technology developed by engineers at the University of Connecticut that can predict storm damage in detail, something which was not possible before the technology was developed.
The United Illuminating Company(UI), an electric company based in New Haven, Connecticut, has announced that it will be adopting a technology developed by engineers at the University of Connecticutthat can predict storm damage in detail, something which was not possible before the technology was developed.
As the Easton Courier reports, the technology — called the Damage Prediction Modeling tool — can harness computing power and model projections of UI’s electric grid more accurately to predict the locations and types of damage that a major storm could inflict, allowing UI repair crews to combat outages more efficiently.
“This tool is just one of the options we now have at our disposal to help us prepare for extreme weather and restore power after it strikes,” said John Prete, the chief operating officer of electrical operations at UI. “We expect it will help us make better-informed decisions as a storm approaches, so that customers’ power can be restored as safely and efficiently as possible.”
The system was developed at the University of Connecticut and was tailored to work with UI. It uses various algorithms against live weather data to model the potential damage — identified by engineers as “trouble spots” — to UI infrastructure. Further, these algorithms are backed by data from fifty-six previous storms that occurred within the past ten years in the region, along with tracking for future storms to modify the results.
The new technology follows in the wake of 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene and the 2012 Sandy storm, which devastated large parts of the northeastern United States, leaving many without power for long periods of time.
In addition to the damage prediction, UI is also reinforcing several of its substations and incorporating technology that allows the tracking of vehicles in the field and better alert systems in place with customers.
Joseph Thomas, the UI vice president for electric systems operations, told the paper, “This is not a crystal ball, but it’s an important tool that we expect will prove invaluable in our planning as large storms approach our territory.”
