Minnesota Power recently implemented the outage communications module of iFactor’s mobile device applications, a suite of reusable software modules that allows utilities to quickly deliver self 
service solutions to their customers. The free smartphone app is available on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices, and is available in the app store for each specific device. Minnesota Power is among a small number of utilities in the nation to offer near real-time outage information in a free smartphone app.
With this new app, customers will have access to the same outage information provided on the Minnesota Power online outage map, Storm Center, which is also powered by iFactor. Outage data is displayed using an interactive Storm Center map, and summary information by county is available in a chart format. Data from the Storm Center site is delivered directly to the app from the utilities’ outage management system, including estimated restoration times once the outage is assessed by field crews. 
Minnesota Power, an operating division of ALLETE (NYSE: ALE), serving customers since 1906, generates, transmits and distributes electricity in a 26,000-square-mile region of Northern Minnesota. The company provides retail electric to 146,000 customers, including some of the largest industrial customers in the country and provides wholesale electric service to 16 municipalities. More information can be found at: www.mnpower.com.
Over 6.4 million customers lost power as Hurricane Irene moved up the eastern coast, making landfall on August 27th. With few eastern electric utilities spared, recovery from Irene continues and approximately 580,000 customers were still without power one week after the storm.
Irene caused an estimated $10 billion worth of damages and over 40 deaths. Various stages of destruction still exist from 
North
Carolina all the way to Maine, with damages ensuing from a variety of storm outcomes, ranging from inland rain, flooding, coastal storm surges, and high winds uprooting trees.
Nine utilities using Storm Center were particularly affected by Hurricane Irene. These utilities serve over 11.5 million customers combined, and at the height of the storm damage were working to repair outages to over 1.5 million customers. Service territories include North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C.
Storm Center was put to the test during the hurricane and subsequent stages of recovery, delivering real-time outage information to desktops and smartphones. By displaying outages on a Storm Center map, utilities were able to quickly communicate information such as the number of customers affected, estimated restoration times, dry ice stations, crew status updates, and other critical storm data. Using smartphones, customers were able to stay up to date on outage information even while displaced from their homes.
A utility in the Maryland and Washington D.C. area delivered outage information using their Storm Center smartphone application, with more than 4,000 new app downloads during the hurricane. Another utility in New York saw a sharp increase in visits to their website, with over one million page views during the storm.
Some utilities took advantage of Storm Center’s advanced features including outage history charts, showing number of outages and number of affected customers over the most recent four days. The outage history chart clearly communicates the utility’s progress in restoring power. Other utilities displayed locations of service stations such as dry ice trucks and outreach vans. Storm Center’s ETR manager tool was used to manually update estimated restoration times, making sure the public had the most up-to-date information possible.
Overall, Storm Center withstood the marked increase in demand for outage information throughout the damage assessment and restoration phases. With utilities focusing on restoration efforts, Storm Center acted as a highly reliable communications tool for emergency responders, customers, and the media. As an added benefit, because Storm Center provides customers with up-to-date, outage information, call center traffic was significantly reduced by automatically answering the age old question on everyone’s mind: “when will my power be restored”.
The key to surviving any catastrophic event is to be prepared. During Hurricane Irene, iFactor’s Storm Center outage maps and mobile applications proved once again that providing customers with convenient access to outage information improves overall communications, significantly reduces call center traffic, and greatly enhances customer perception and satisfaction throughout the event.
Santee Cooper, the state utility of coastal South Carolina, has contracted with iFactor Consulting to provide an upgrade of their existing PowerOn OMS and the incorporation of several iFactor supporting software products.
The project started this winter with the development and integration of iFactor Storm Center and iFactor’s call taking application for PowerOn. Storm Center
is a world-class web-based product designed to provide the public with up to date outage information and reporting tools. Through this portal, the public will be able to view accurate outage information with the appropriate details for public consumption. Customers will also be able to report outages and view restoration information.
Included in the first phase of the project is the incorporation of the web-based call taking application for PowerOn. The call taking application integrates directly into the PowerOn OMS Oracle schema to enable customer service representatives the ability to search for customer accounts, view call and outage history, log new calls and manage callbacks. PowerOn call taking and Storm Center were rolled out for internal usage during July. Storm Center will be introduced to the public in September.
This summer iFactor will commence with the PowerOn upgrade which will conclude at the end of the year.
LG&E and KU recently implemented the outage communications module of iFactor’s mobile device applications, a suite of reusable software modules that 
allow utilities to quickly deliver self service solutions to their customers. The free smartphone app is available on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry devices, and is available in the app store for each specific device. LG&E and KU are the first utilities in the state of Kentucky (and among a small number of utilities in the nation) to offer near real-time outage information in a free smartphone app.
With this new app, customers will have access to the same outage information provided on the LG&E and KU online outage map, Storm Center, which is also powered by iFactor. Outage data is displayed using an interactive Storm Center map, and summary information by county and zip code is available in a chart format. Data from the Storm Center site is delivered directly to the app from the utilities’ outage management system, including estimated restoration times once the outage is assessed by field crews.
“Our smartphone outage map app is our first entry in a larger mobile communications portfolio that will be progressively introduced to customers,” said Greg Thomas, vice president of Energy Delivery – Distribution Operations for LG&E and KU. “Enabling the public to access and view outage information on the go is just another way we are working to enhance our customers’ experiences with us.”
LG&E and KU are currently developing several other mobile communications offerings, including two-way SMS texting, email and phone outage notifications, and in-app alerts.
Are you curious to know what iFactor has been up to over the last few months? Check out the summer edition of the Informer!
