Use of New Software that will Help PWP See Real-time Status of Power Outages in the City Eyed

The Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) is considering the use of new software that will help the department quickly address and restore power outages in the city during severe weather events such as the recent windstorm in late January.

“We need software to show us more real-time [the status of power outages] so we can share that with the crew and then it’s easier for us to delegate who’s where and more efficiently address outages. That would just help us assess all the outages,” Brian Dease, a power distribution section supervisor at PWP said on Tuesday during the meeting of the Municipal Services Committee related to the windstorm that raked the city from January 21 to 22.

While no serious injuries were reported, the windstorm in Pasadena had caused several incidents including downed poles, downed and broken electrical wires, and damage caused by fallen tree branches.

According to Dease, a total of 22 outages were reported to the PWP. Of this figure, eight were “single customer outages,” and 14 were “multi-customer outages.”

“Of these 14 outages, about 925 people were interrupted. I’m happy to say we got about 80 percent back on within five hours of the interruption.”

The duration of the power interruptions reported range from one hour to under 24 hours, said Dease.

Dease estimated the cost of the recent windstorm in Pasadena to be between $200,000 to $250,000.