Kandiyohi Power Cooperative ESRI Technology in Action

To introduce ourselves… We are located approximately 100 miles west of Mpls/St. Paul and our service territory is primarily Kandiyohi County with facilities in 4 surrounding counties. Our cooperative was established in We currently employ 35 people, maintain 1700 miles of line and serve 7,853 accounts.

When it all started… Our mapping system consisted of paper maps until 1992 GRE Co-op’s formed a GIS Committee and they selected CableCad as the software of choice

We became doubtful… Using the Legend software, we had a very limited number of maps installed on PC’s for company use We began to question the stability of Enghouse and the ongoing capability of their CableCad software

And so we moved on…and began the conversion process… In the fall of 2000 we decided to move to ESRI We began the process in 2001, hired a full-time GIS person and started bringing the landbase into the map With the help of USG and CableCad’s Conversion to Shapefiles Program, we spent the winter of converting our mapping to ESRI

The clean-up continues… We spent all of 2002 importing existing information from CableCad, making map corrections and cleaning up data

Laptops were added… In the spring of 2003 several Panasonic 28’s were purchased for use by the staker, substation equipment man, and the line trucks. We chose the ArcReader software to read the map.

Wireless transmitters for the linemen… We have a wireless network transmitter that allows the linemen to update their maps while they are parked in our garage

Once again, USG helps us out… USG has written links between our CIS system and other equipment programs to populate data on the map

Our Regulator Program… The regulator program helps us keep track of the location of each regulator on our system. It also stores information such as install and overhaul dates, maintenance, and quarterly readings. Any oil or PCB test results also get recorded here. Selected information from this program is used to populate the regulators on the map.

Our Recloser Program… We can see at a glance the ratings/specs, manufacture and location data with our Recloser Program. Purchase, install and overhaul dates are recorded here as well. As with our other equipment programs, the readings and history information is documented. Information from this program is also transferred to the map.

How we benefit from our specialized reports… Our Service Summary Program provides equipment and pole number information in a user friendly format.

Our Substations… Our Substation circuit drawings were digitized by USG and imported into our map. This layer is drawn at a very small scale but can be enlarged for viewing purposes.

Aerial photographs … We acquired color aerial photographs from the DNR web site and use these mainly for consumer and landbase placement

Tie point reference … At Kandiyohi Power, we use pole numbers and USG has written a program that looks at open points on the map and gives linemen an easy reference for backfeed points

Outages in KPC Newsletter… Outages are displayed on the map. Each month we create an outage list for our newsletter using the map information. This gets sent out to all KPC members.

Contract locators use our map… Our contract locators are required to have laptops. We supply them with ArcReader and our map setup. Their PC’s are updated through CD’s or jump drive and it’s their responsibility to update each of their employees’ laptops.

Individual Township Maps… To aid the linemen in the field, we produce annual Township Map Books which include all the townships we serve. These drawings are updated through the map.

On to new & better things!.... We are currently exploring new CIS software and expect the interaction will change. The data will be live and we will eliminate the downloading procedure. The mobile PC’s will still present a problem.

As we continue to move on… We are currently preparing to implement the Adeline Staking program. This software will help us streamline our work order process. We are hoping the USG staff will once again guide us as we stumble our way through this new phase of technology. ®

Remember… “Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.” By Henry Steele Commager

The End