Customers kept onthrough a neighboring line when their own is shut off
The problem
When fire weather forces a line off, or fire damages it, every customer fed through that line loses power, including customers outside the risk area. Finding a safe alternate feed takes studies the event doesn't leave time for, so most de-energizations run their full length.
What we ran
A Western network with mapped fire-risk zones and ten de-energization events a year, averaging 5,000 customers and 24 hours each.
What the agent did
For each de-energized segment it finds customers that can be fed from a neighboring circuit outside the risk zone, checks the tie with load flow and the utility's fire-risk rules, and drafts the switching. The operator approves. Anything inside the risk zone stays off.
Results
| Measure | Today | With Evardi |
|---|---|---|
| Customers kept on per event | Few, by hand | About 600 of 5,000 (12%) |
| Time to a checked alternate-feed plan | Hours | Minutes |
| Medical-baseline and critical customers kept on | Counted | Counted and listed first |
What it is worth
- Customer value: customers kept on × hours × events a year × cost per customer-hour by class
- Utility cash is small here and not claimed. Critical customers kept on are reported as a count.
* Study simulated with partners on public data.
Run it on your network
The feeder model with ties, fire-risk zones and one past de-energization event. We replay it and list the customers that could have stayed on.
Full study
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The complete write-up of “Customers kept on through a neighboring line when their own is shut off”: method, data, results and assumptions, as a PDF. Leave your work email and we'll send it.
