VeriDaaS Corporation, a Hi-Definition LiDAR data acquisition and solutions company is to support efforts of Omaha Public Power District in their digital transformation project.
OPPD has embarked on a massive 14-county LiDAR laser mapping program to accurately map and spatially reference all overhead electric distribution facilities. Mapping the electric facilities accurately is the first step in moving to utility-wide digital transformation. Digital transformation of a utility enhances the Geographic Information System (GIS) and promotes the use of Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) leading to more efficient reliable power.
we-do-IT project managed and ran a request for proposals process, selecting VeriDaaS Corporation to capture the high-density LiDAR. VeriDaaS’ LiDAR sensors are flown on fixed-wing aircraft at higher altitudes that result in larger swath widths without compromising density or accuracy, thereby lowering the cost of acquisition.
“The correction of geospatial data is an important step in OPPD’s journey
to modernize our grid,” said Tami Davey, supervisor of Geospatial Systems and Drafting for OPPD. “Accurate location of our facilities will not only improve dispatching of crews and field audit functions, but also allow us to better align with other utilities and agencies in the design and coordination of our systems. VeriDaaS has collected the utility’s entire service area (approximately 5,000 square miles) at 50 points per square meter with their high-density sensors. VeriDaaS then extracted/classified the utility feature classes to support vegetation management and conflation use cases. The entire acquisition and classification were completed in two months, which included down time associated with poor weather conditions.
The high-density LiDAR data provides the ability to extract transmission and distribution features across very large areas of a service territory which supports a wide range of use cases for utility customers. The image below is a sample of the LiDAR data that has been color-classified by elevation.
In summary, the modern utility uses data like LiDAR to better manage the grid. The benefits include enhanced efficiency (better use of navigation to electric facilities during outages), improved safety (identify trees near the power lines or low sagging conductor), asset location accuracy for overlying on base maps and more.
