Tampa, Fla., April 20, 2009—The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) announced today that Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, Minn., was named a recipient of the 2009 GITA Excellence Award. The award recognizes the dedication, insight, and high degree of initiative in the outstanding application of geospatial technology. The award was presented during the Opening Session of GITA’s Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference, being held April 19-22, 2009, at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Fla.
Xcel Energy’s initial exposure to using geospatial technology began in the PSCo (Public Service of Colo.) jurisdiction back in 1983. A multitude of work practices have been enhanced and additional systems integrations implemented to realize significant benefits at Xcel Energy.
A few of the key benefits realized include:
-
Distribution Electric and Gas Design work is conducted in our system via GIS, Design Tool, and WMS. Streamlining our work order design process around GIS functionality and linking to legacy systems and an automated estimating system provide job cost information to customers.
-
Maintaining a geographic location for all customers in our GIS converted regions, enabling various applications such as an outage management system to be implemented.
-
Implemented mobile data terminals equipped with GIS data in construction and emergency response vehicles, improving our ability to respond and restore service as required.
-
GIS data is published to our asset management system for analysis.
“Xcel Energy’s pioneering vision and dedication is evident as one of the critical components in leveraging the geospatial technology to support the success realized by the company,” said Scott Bundy, senior solutions consultant for Xcel Energy. We are very proud of our work with this technology and appreciate GITA’s recognition through this award.”
# # #
The mission of the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) is to provide excellence in education, information exchange, and applied research on the use and benefits of geospatial information and technology in worldwide infrastructure. Visit GITA on the Web at www.gita.org.