{"id":1774,"date":"2021-08-04T20:25:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T20:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trccompanies.com\/insights\/oklahoma-gas-electric-company-uses-ai-to-assess-and-repair-distribution-pole-damage\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T15:10:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T15:10:14","slug":"oklahoma-gas-electric-company-uses-ai-to-assess-and-repair-distribution-pole-damage","status":"publish","type":"news-and-insights","link":"https:\/\/www.trccompanies.com\/fr\/insights\/oklahoma-gas-electric-company-uses-ai-to-assess-and-repair-distribution-pole-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company uses AI to assess and repair distribution pole damage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Oklahoma City<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company (\u201cOG&E\u201d), a subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp. (NYSE: OGE), today announced it begins a pilot program that uses artificial intelligence (\u201cAI\u201d) to help reduce outages caused by equipment failures. As part of its grid enhancement program, OG&E will leverage collaborative AI-powered image recognition technology that enables engineers to complete distribution pole inspections with greater accuracy and helps to reduce manual review of images.<\/p>\n

TRC Companies<\/a>, an engineering and digitally focused consulting firm with expertise in\u00a0IT\/OT solutions<\/a>, will provide overall program management for the pilot.\u00a0eSmart Systems<\/a>\u00a0will provide the advanced technology used during the pilot, including a best practice called Collaborative AI, with their Grid Vision\u00ae solution. The solution is designed to analyze photographic images of distribution poles to identify defects, catalog asset inventory and identify risk issues that need to be addressed to better maintain reliability. The solution is expected to accelerate image analysis and improve the inspection process, while increasing efficiency, improving safety, and enhancing overall reliability. The program will initially focus on woodpecker damage as a specific use case. Woodpeckers can and do cause considerable damage to wooden distribution\/power poles in a short period of time and this technology allows OG&E to better respond to deterioration and utilize a consistent approach for repairs and replacements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been excited about eSmart since hearing about them through our partnership with Energy Impact Partners (EIP). Utilizing cutting-edge technology in the form of AI to inspect our distribution poles makes our electric grid smarter, improves our business processes and helps to keep the lights on for our customers,\u201d said Zac Gladhill, Director of Grid Integration and Innovation for OG&E. \u201cWe anticipate this technology will reduce the amount of time our engineers spend sifting through photographs of poles and \u201ctriaging\u201d potential damage. We currently anticipate applying the technology to identify additional uses in our transmission and distribution network if the pilot meets performance objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping our clients integrate and fully leverage these types of advanced technologies is at the core of what we do in digital at TRC. The ability to utilize our expertise in grid enhancement to combine technology with solving clients\u2019 issues in new and innovative ways is just one way we are expanding capabilities for our clients.\u201d said Ryan Renner, TRC\u2019s President, Digital Solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to be partnering with OG&E and TRC to develop a solution that will help to improve the inspection process, increase efficiency, and improve safety.\u201d said Knut Johansen, CEO of eSmart Systems.<\/p>\n

OG&E\u2019s Grid Enhancement Plan is designed to provide present and future benefits to its customers and stakeholders by focusing on the needed replacement and upgrade of equipment, while also including the installation of new technology and communications systems. The pilot program with eSmart Systems and TRC has the potential to advance the technology used by OG&E in the future and transform the way damage is assessed for years to come.<\/p>\n

Click\u00a0HERE<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about OG&E\u2019s Grid Enhancement Plan.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

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