Global
India

Power Utility Management Through GIS Mapping and Consumer Indexing

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Manipur State Power Development Company Limited, abbreviated MSPDCL, undertakes power distribution activities within the state of Manipur in the north-eastern region of India. As a part of this project awarded to us by MSPDCL, we were required to conduct the GIS survey of 33/11 kV substation and 11 kV feeders of certain areas in Manipur and index consumer details for ease in online billing etc.

Scope of the Work

Electrical Network Asset Mapping Substation Survey Land Base Map Preparation Consumer Survey & Indexing Training

Objectives of the Project

Some of the objectives of the implementation of this project are inclusive of but not restricted to:

  • Identification of anomalies between actual power consumption and billing received against each electrical entity for accurate measurement and reduction of power loss.
  • Reducing time taken to attend customers' complaints of power outage and provide new connections.
  • This will lead to the enforcement of transparency in business operations and internal accountability.

This project was also beneficial for building a concrete asset management system and conducting distribution network planning and analysis for improved power distribution among consumers.

Electrical Network Assets Mapping

Electrical Network Asset Mapping

We conducted GIS surveys for 33/11 kV substation and 11 kV feeders in the areas assigned to us.

GIS mapping included a variety of steps like plotting the high tension (HT) and low tension (LT) poles on the map along with DTRs and other equipment using the data collected by GPS and DGPS systems. We collected attribute data of the electrical assets and equipment and plotted them on the map. Based on this, lines were generated on the GIS map indicating the LT and HT (33 kV, 11kV) overhead lines as well as underground cables, poles, feeder pillar boxes etc.

Read more about GIS for electric utilities

Substation Survey for Electrical Distribution Line

Substation Survey

Our field executives visited the substations and collected the latitude and longitude details of the periphery using DGPS receiver. We accumulated data of all electrical assets within the substation including control room, power transformer, switch gear, current transformer, potential transformer, station transformer, earth switch, lightning arrestor, isolator, circuit breaker etc. along with asset attributes.

The purpose of the substation data collection was the digitization of the same over a base map. The electrical attributes were codified according to the codification logic.

geo-referencing-of-basemap

Land Base Map Preparation

We digitized land features including road, railway, river, canal and district water bodies to prepare a land base map from the satellite imagery which was geo-referenced using the Ground Control Points (GCPs) collected. The attributes of the digitized layers were added from the available maps and through field survey. Survey of the landmarks including Govt. offices, cultural and educational centers, religious places etc. was conducted using DGPS device. This information was superimposed on the prepared base maps created on a scale of 1:2000 in .shp format.

We also mapped electrical administrative sub-division boundaries on a scale of 1:4000 for the purpose of executing developmental activities. The following varieties of maps were created:

  • Sub-division-wise maps
  • SS with feeders maps
  • Feeder-wise maps
  • DTRs maps with/without land base

We finalized the Area of Interest (AOI) immediately after the completion of land base map preparation.

consumer indexing through geospatial survey

Consumer Survey & Indexing

CyberSWIFT's field executives conducted door-to-door surveys of consumers to collect and create customer database that includes spatial as well as attribute data. The consumer database created was complete with GPS details. One of the primary purposes of creating this database was the generation of an online billing system.

The methodologies followed include the steps mentioned below:

  • Our team of surveyors were provided with pre-built forms to collect data from the consumers.
  • Surveyors followed pole codes for the identification of the network hierarchy for the consumers.
  • Consumer coding was carried out on the basis of approved consumer codification.
training for geo database update - electrical asset mapping

Training

We trained managers, IT staff, line men, surveyors of the H.Q. and other MSPDCL staff on the following aspects:

  • Geo-database update and maintenance
  • Map preparation to enable MSPDCL staff to handle further update and maintenance of the GIS database
  • Establishing a GIS cell in MSPDCL to handle electrical asset mapping using GIS, GPS and remote-sensing technology

Final Deliverable

We delivered a complete map indicating the state-wide electrical assets and their geospatial features along with a comprehensive database of the consumers.