Utility Asset Research Articles

Optimal control for quadrotors during inspection of power utility assets

Renewable energy and power utilities inspection by autonomous aircraft enables rapid and effective risk-free assessment of the state of systems, and provides a qualitative and accurate assessment of defects and damages. To realize maximum operational benefits of aerial inspections, effective controls for autonomous aircraft must be ensured and the system should be operated in an optimal policy. Hence, the objective of this paper is to consider optimal control strategies for a quadrotor helicopter type UAV. Based on some structural properties of the considered system, in particular the flatness property, we suggest a control strategy that ensures tracking a time parameterized path that connects two given points in the state space while minimizing the energy consumption. The proposed controller enables longer-endurance missions for the quadrotor and effective supervision and inspection of large energy systems and power plants. In this paper the analysis of the control law takes into consideration the highly nonlinear dynamic model of the quadrotor and the electrical actuator model. The current approach in solving the optimal control problem under consideration allows one to eliminate the differential equation and to reformulate the optimal control problem to a nonlinear dynamic programming problem. The approach can make monitoring operations of renewable energy plants by aerial vehicles, more efficient.

Experience on centralizing the Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering function in an Italian multi-utility company

The paper explores the centralization process of the Asset Management and Maintenance Engineering functions drawing from a project experience carried out in an Italian multi-utility company. The path towards centralization of the management of assets emerges as a strategic response to enhance operational synergies, improve resource allocation, and capitalize on economies of scale. The project is described in this paper, providing insights proposing a comprehensive, standardized approach for utility Asset Management, considering diverse utility services (water, gas, electricity and heating) and asset types to be managed. The centralization effort follows a three-step process: maturity assessment, common performance measurement system design, and sharing practices company-wide. This strategic response to evolving business demands offers a valuable framework for utility asset management in diverse industries and may be of help to companies following the same evolution path. Existing areas of research to be further explored are also emerging and discussed.

Embrace Digital Tools to Enhance Water Utility Operations

The digital revolution continues to extend benefits to water utilities through powerful and expansive data management, fostering collaboration across operations, maximizing utility assets, and improving customer service.

Establishing Levels of Service as the Foundation of Utility Asset Management

Key TakeawaysLevels of service (LoS) are a crucial component of a successful, comprehensive asset management approach.This article sets out a framework for developing LoS, including descriptions of elements, definitions of terms, and the where and why to employ different types of metrics.Stages of asset management centered on developing and supporting LoS are ranked in a maturity scale; the stages help water utilities assess their current levels and next steps.

Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications for Virtual Sensing of Underground Utilities.

Accurately identifying the location and depth of buried utility assets became a considerable challenge in the construction industry, for which accidental strikes can cause important economic losses and safety concerns. While the collection of as-built utility locations is becoming more accurate, there still exists an important need to be capable of accurately detecting buried utilities in order to eliminate risks associated with digging. Current practices typically involve the use of trained agents to survey and detect underground utilities at locations of interest, which is a costly and time-consuming process. With advances in artificial intelligence (AI), an opportunity arose in conducting virtual sensing of buried utilities by combining robotics (e.g., drones), knowledge, and logic. This paper reviewed methods that are based on AI in mapping underground infrastructure. In particular, the use of AI in aerial and terrestrial mapping of utility assets was reviewed, followed by a summary of AI techniques used in fusing multi-source data in creating underground infrastructure maps. Key observations from the consolidated literature were that (1) when leveraging computer vision methods, automatic mapping techniques vastly focus on manholes localized from aerial imagery; (2) when applied to non-intrusive sensing, AI methods vastly focus on empowering ground-penetrating radar (GPR)-produced data; and (3) data fusion techniques to produce utility maps should be extended to any utility assets/types. Based on these observations, a universal utility mapping model was proposed, one that could enable mapping of underground utilities using limited information available in the form of different sources of data and knowledge.

Risk‐Based Long‐Term Renewal Planning and Budget Forecasting for Aging Pipelines

Key TakeawaysStrategic planning for pipe renewal and replacement (R&R) is key to saving money, maintaining high‐quality service to customers, and preventing catastrophic infrastructure failures.A proactive capital improvement plan involves condition assessment, risk analysis, project prioritization, and creation of an R&R schedule, giving priority to pipes most in need.Scenario analysis using a powerful simulation model provides a systemwide forecast that is instrumental in planning, budgeting, and making the most of utility assets.

Time and Water

Once a society's water issues are resolved, time becomes its most precious resource. However, water issues are never resolved for long because the world keeps changing and society's capabilities and expectations evolve along with it. As the public's understanding of and engagement with water issues expand, the water industry needs to develop approaches that serve customers today yet keep in mind how water systems should work in the future. AWWA's Water 2050 effort seeks a long-term vision for water, and by anticipating the water industry's future needs, it can also learn to do better now. This issue of Journal AWWA is also forward-looking, starting with an examination of the future of the environmental laboratory workforce. Like many specialty careers in water, this month's cover story highlights how the industry needs creative solutions to recruit and retain skilled staff to address current and future needs. Looking critically at water system operations, another article explores the factors that contribute to water system success and the different channels that should be used to improve performance, including better long-term planning and more coordinated support from stakeholders and regulators. Another feature explores how biofiltration will likely become more widely used as the underlying processes and treatment benefits are better understood, especially in the face of future regulatory changes. These authors highlight how sustainability, resilience, and financial issues are considered in future water systems, as well as how the best ideas from industry and academia cross-pollinate and lead to future breakthroughs. Another article this month describes the Public Protection Classification criteria of communities for home insurance purposes, which is based on the fire flow of the local municipal water system, and the factors that describe the fire flow adequacy of a municipal water system are prone to future changes. Focusing on strategic planning for pipe renewal and replacement, another article provides guidance to water systems using proactive capital improvement that involves scenario analysis to provide systemwide forecasts for planning, budgeting, and optimizing utility assets. And a final article describes how strategically designed and targeted conservation programs can help communities reduce overall water use by employing smart controllers and addressing customers with the most conservation potential. No society's water issues are resolved forever, so for water and wastewater systems, the never-ending cycle of operation, regeneration, and improvement is passed between professionals who must understand the wide reach of current and future water issues. Join AWWA's effort to look forward and consider writing an article for Journal AWWA by contacting me at [email protected].

The larceny of the last second: the case for transcendence

ABSTRACT This paper submits that the hegemonic order in celebrity studies is fixated upon questions of utility, yield and economic asset value. These technical considerations support a technocratic engagement with celebrity that exaggerates the importance of technology and linearity. By the same token, it devalues philosophical perspectives that address questions of Transcendence and Ultimate Meaning. The term ‘Triangulation’ is introduced to describe the dominant paradigm in celebrity studies. The paper develops the case that to ignore these philosophical issues impoverishes the domain of celebrity studies. The value of these questions is demonstrated by discussing the relevance of Kant’s concepts of noumena and noumena, Hegel’s account of World Historical Individuals. This material is used to advance the value of phenomenological perspectives, notably the contributions of Bergson and Husserl, in respect of time and space, in the analysis of celebrity.

BIM dimensions: example of air blower station at wastewater treatment plant

The main goal of research is to analyse the prospects for the development of BIM dimensions (3D-7D) in Russia on the example of Water and wastewater industry (WWI) asset. Justification of goal is the insufficient development of industry-specific BIM systems, allowing for different interpretations of its dimensions. The object of research is the air blower station (ABS), the most energy-intensive asset, which typically consumes 62-85% of the energy of WWTP’s. The method is a hypothesis of 3D-7D modeling of water utility asset, presented for the discussions. ABS compressors reduce costs by regulating the air supply due to lifestyle of the population and seasonal environmental conditions (example of simulation results is present). 3D design visualises variant of the reconstruction of the ABS, implemented according to typical project. 4D planning represent the schedule of energy service company, which provides investments and jobs for: design documentation execution, equipment purchase, installation and commissioning of equipment. 5D costs analyses features of the phase in terms of project expertise. 6D sustainability model in practice differs from prediction or forecasting generated by the simulation model of ABS asset, power consumption will be lower up to real (not simulated) technological loads. 7D management analyses possibility of the life cycle cost estimation as strategic advantage of WWI standard. The paper is based on Russian standards. Designing of 3D models are developing on an irregular basis (proactively) in Russia. The mastering of modeling 3D, 4D, 5D based on individual disciplines (as autonomous databases) is self-sufficient today as WWI tusk. The operational nature of WWI enterprises testifies to the development of elements of 6D-7D models.

Adapting to a Changing Climate: EPA's Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool

Key TakeawaysThe US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Creating Resilient Water Utilities program has advanced water sector climate preparedness for more than a decade.EPA's Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT) assists drinking water and wastewater utilities in their efforts to strengthen climate resilience.CREAT provides access to climate model projections, libraries of utility assets, and adaptive measures that reduce risk.The results of CREAT assessments help utilities understand the potential financial consequences of a changing climate and assess effective adaptation strategies.

Evaluating Financial Performance of Jordanian Bank Listed on Amman Stock Exchange for the Period (2016-2020)

This study aims to identify the level of financial performance of Jordanian banks listed on Amman stock exchange during the period (2016-2020), using the financial ratios approved in assessing the financial performance of banks, to determine their performance during the study phase. Concerning the purposes of achieving the objective of the study, five financial ratios are extracted from the financial reports of the banks of the research sample for each year of the study: return on assets, return on equity, total assets to equity right ratio (equity multiplier), net profit margin and utility assets. The study noted that the financial performance of the Jordanian bank group during the period of the study was fragile, due to the high debt ratio and the low rates of return for these banks, this reflects the negative impact of the Corona crisis on the Jordanian economy represented by the increase of the volume of either internal or external debt, and the decrease in the proportion of foreign investment flows.
 
 Received: 22 February 2022 / Accepted: 7 June 2022 / Published: 5 July 2022

Resilience of electric utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic in the framework of the CIGRE definition of Power System Resilience

Resilience is a vital concept in engineering, business, and natural sciences, and is a measure of the ability of an entity to withstand High Impact Low Probability (HILP) events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in late 2019/early 2020, power system utilities around the globe have responded in effective and efficient ways to enhance the resilience of their organisations, both in terms of real-time operations and prudent management of its infrastructure, in order to continue their mandate in providing reliable supply to meet customer demands. This paper presents the CIGRE definition for power system resilience, established by the C4.47 Working Group in 2018, and demonstrates the application of resilience-oriented thinking within the electrical sector. The response and recovery efforts are described, with respect to the key actionable measures integral to the power system resilience definition, taken before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A practical conceptual framework is also presented for thinking about resilience in terms of three key components of resilience strategies: organisational, infrastructure and operational resilience. The paper also discusses the different strategies adopted in response to COVID-19, based on the C4.47 members’ experiences during the pandemic. Finally, a case study is presented, which proves the effectiveness of a set of response measures, using graph theory and the characteristics of the staff-asset interactions.

SMARTPHONE-BASED REALITY CAPTURE FOR SUBSURFACE UTILITIES: EXPERIENCES FROM WATER UTILITY COMPANIES IN DENMARK

Abstract. Inaccurate and inconsistent documentation of subsurface utilities is a reoccurring problem in the construction industry affecting not only the end-users, but all actors involved in designing, constructing, and maintaining pipes, cables and other utilities hidden underground. In this study, a new method for 3D capturing of subsurface utilities, based on a newly developed Smartphone-based Reality Capture (RC) solution is explored. The research was divided into two parts. Firstly a testing of the method accuracy and secondly, an investigation of the usability of the method. The research results firstly showed that the RC solution is a feasible surveying method, that facilitate capturing of as-built utility assets, which can be used as a supporting tool to conventional surveying methods or alone, as the testing showed an accuracy of ±5 cm for the generated point clouds. Secondly the usability testing revealed that the RC solution benefited the utility owners by allowing time-savings on construction projects, as well as generating visual-realistic 3D models of exposed subsurface utilities to be used for quality assurance and planning of future utility work.

Artificial intelligence model for transformer fault diagnosis using a constructed database

High capital investment in critical assets, in particular power transformers requires application of incisive diagnostics to determine performance and identify potential issues which may impact long-term operation and maintenance. Asset failure and replacement represent a worst-case scenario which can be avoided. This paper proposes a model for accurate transformer fault diagnosis using artificial intelligence (AI) methods. In recent years, AI models have evolved for fault classification using Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) data. In common practice, most DGA data are collated but less often labelled, thus restricting the development of diagnostic models with different learning approaches. To overcome this and related limitations, this paper proposes a new hybrid DGA method for unlabelled data to extract information to build a diagnostic database. The method uses the Rogers Ratio and Duval Triangle Methods to identify early and premature fault onset. The method also supports common utility asset practices to reduce transformer management costs by minimising damage from unnecessary invasive maintenance. The paper provides a comparative study of artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and decision tree models using the constructed database. Comparative results indicate a high level of diagnostic precision with approximately 99% accuracy for classification using a KNN-based model.

Estimating tree-related power outages for regional utility network using airborne LiDAR data and spatial statistics

Trees play an integral role in the “green” framework of an urban ecosystem. However, just as they are beneficial to the environment, they can pose a significant risk to utility infrastructure networks, particularly in severe weather events. The objectives of this research were to explore the effect of scale and spatial variation on the relationships between trees and utility assets for vegetation-related power outages through the incorporation of remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) analysis. Tree location and structural metrics derived from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data were combined with regional utility network GIS data to test the prediction analysis capabilities of global and local statistics at multiple scales. Pearson’s correlation was carried out to examine the relationships between tree structure and utility asset variables to vegetation-related power outages, including the effect of the resolution, or grid-cell size, on those relationships. To test the performance of global and local regression modeling on outage prediction, ordinary least square (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were evaluated using four explanatory variables (utility wire length, utility pole count, tree canopy area, maximum tree height) at four different grid cell scales (50 m, 500 m, 1 km, 2 km). In general, Pearson’s correlation demonstrated the strongest positive relationship between explanatory variables and power outages when only aggregating 50-m grid cells exhibiting co-location of trees and utility assets to 2-km grid cells. Local regression models performed better than global models at all scales, with GWR producing the highest adjusted R2 and lowest Akaike information criterion (AIC) values of 0.955 and 3213, respectively. Additionally, the performance of OLS and GWR models increased with scale as both models produced the highest adjusted R2 at 2-km grid-cell scale. GWR model outputs demonstrated unique spatial patterning across the study area. This research demonstrated the effect of scale and spatial variation on regression analysis for the estimation of tree-related power outages.

AN INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF CYBER SECURITY INFORMATION SYSTEMS: LATEST TRENDS AND FUTURE SUGGESTION

Network protection includes of the strategies and procedures implemented in this paper to avoid and monitor intrusion attempts, infringement, manipulation or violation of a computer system and services accessed by the network. Network protection applies to the different countermeasures put in place to secure or flow through the network and data collected on or through it. Protection for web applications is the method of securing websites and internet resources from multiple security attacks that target weaknesses in an application. Security for web apps is a data management division that primarily deals with the security of websites, web applications and web services. Risks to cyber security include a broad range of allegedly criminal practices on the web. For years, computer security risks against utility assets were identified, cyber-attacks arising from the exploitation of data device weaknesses by unauthorized access users This study is a cyber infrastructure assault, vulnerability and vulnerabilities, including hardware and software devices, networks, business networks, intranets, and cyber intrusion usage. Only big organisations are at risk of cyber-attacks, a widespread misunderstanding. Even then, the targeting of small and medium sized enterprises has seen a large improvement. This is since less-sophisticated cyber defence mechanisms appear to be used by these smaller organisations. As many as 50% of all cyber-attacks hit small companies, wasting $200,000 on average, sufficient to get out of business for less-established entities. an enterprise-grade protection device and awareness of the various forms of cyber threats facing corporations in 2025 to safeguard company from hacking attacks. fight cyber threats successfully and decrease the exposure of enterprise.

DATA MODELING FOR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF UTILITY NETWORKS: IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

Abstract. The organisational data models that support the information needs of utility network managers are proprietary and domain-specific, while the emerging national standards in this field often lack lifecycle data representation capabilities. However, multiple types of utility networks can be comprehensively represented with the free and open-source Utility Network Application Domain Extension (ADE) of the international standard CityGML. The Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Domain Ontology is a proposed extended version of the Utility Network ADE that allows for consistent and comprehensive processing, storage and exchange of O&M-related utility network data. So far, this ontology has not yet been implemented in a spatial-relational database. Consequently, the support it offers during routine utility asset management tasks has remained untested. This paper, therefore, tests the support of the O&M domain ontology for asset management and proposes a database implementation of this data model. To this end, it models and loads two utility networks from the campus of the University of Twente, the Netherlands. It tests the ontology’s support for asset management by simulating a street reconstruction project and retrieving necessary project information in relation to a utility’s (a) maintenance history and performance, and (b) site conditions and valve locations. Results show that the implemented model supports projects with rapid, comprehensive, and consistent information about semantic details of utilities. Such data needs yet to be collected and registered systematically to enable future data-driven asset management practices.

Remote Technologies Enhance Condition Assessment

Remotely operated vehicles and related technologies have blazed a trail for safer, more accurate, and more reliable inspection and repair of water/wastewater utility assets.

Digital Asset Performance Management—Taking Utility Asset Management to the Next Level

Asset management today is more complex and sophisticated than ever before. With the numerous digital enhancements required for grid modernization, the average utility is managing 10 times the number of devices it was 20 years ago. Additionally, these devices have electronic components that require increased regular care and maintenance. The industry has moved beyond putting a pole in the ground and dressing it—mounting arms and a transformer and spanning conductors to the customer and the next pole. Sound asset management strategies provide an array of benefits, including operational efficiencies and cost savings, increased asset life expectancy, improved reliability, and increased safety. More so, in today's digital world, enterprise asset management (EAM) has become known as asset performance management (APM) and continues to evolve toward “digital asset performance management.” Implementation of a digital APM solution can reduce utilities capital and operations and maintenance (O&M) spend by 20 percent or more.

Support First‐Responder Training at Closed Sites

Public water utility assets are integrated into the fabric of society. Tanks, structures, and vaults are positioned across communities, doing their part to serve local water needs. These assets are generational and built to last. Yet, like all man‐made structures, they have a life expectancy. When slated for retirement, these assets are demolished or end up as ground‐up rehabilitation projects. Before razing, water utilities should consider a community outreach approach and engage local emergency services for unique training opportunities.