Optimising Unplanned Power Outage Management for a Brighter Future

Outages can occur at all levels of the power grid, whether planned or unplanned, including distribution, transmission, and supply. Let’s delve into the challenges with unplanned outages and how powerful outage management software can significantly improve response times, thereby minimising the impact of outages and ensuring the safety and well-being of all involved.
Stresses of Unplanned Outages
Power outages cause disruptions in communities and can even lead to loss of revenue and, in extreme cases, loss of life. To get a sense of that cost, according to ITIC, Information Technology Intelligence Consulting reports:

• Hourly downtime costs continue to rise for all businesses, with 86% of firms stating that one hour of downtime costs $300,000 or more.
• One-third of organisations report that the cost of a single hour of downtime can reach $1 million to over $5 million.
• Downtime can be equally devastating to small and mid-sized businesses, potentially leading to significant monetary losses, damage to reputation, and litigation.
• 85% of corporations now require a minimum of “four nines” of uptime (99.99%) for mission-critical hardware, operating systems, and main line of business applications.
• High reliability, availability, and strong security are imperative for conducting business in today’s interconnected networks.

This type of data can keep power system stakeholders up at night. While these statistics are taken from the business sector, not the utility sector, it is easy to see how revenue loss is just one example of why having a reliable and efficient system to manage outages is crucial to power utilities. Customer satisfaction is a key performance indicator. Many power companies have implemented various outage management systems to respond quickly and effectively to power outages.