The Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), located in Orlando, Florida, earned Utility Automation & Engineering T&D magazine's Geospatial Technologies Project of the Year Award. OUC received the award for its implementation of an enterprise GIS using ArcGIS software from Esri and ArcFM software from Esri Business Partner Miner and Miner of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"Our enterprise GIS provides numerous benefits," says Rick Frymyer, technical development engineer, Orlando Utilities Commission. "It allows us to eliminate duplicate data efforts using a centralized, seamless geodatabase. Our operational analysis is greatly improved. We can more quickly and easily generate more accurate and up-to-date maps and data. Perhaps, most important, we're achieving cost savings through centralized processes and improved data access, sharing, and communication."

The award was given by Utility Automation & Engineering T&D magazine, published by PennWell Corporation, during the keynote session of the 2004 DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, January 20, 2004.

The Orlando Utilities Commission is the second largest locally owned electric utility in Florida. OUC serves more than 190,000 electric customers and 130,000 potable and chilled water customers throughout the city of Orlando, Florida, and portions of Orange and Osceola Counties.

In 2003 OUC went into full production with ArcGIS and ArcFM software to better support operations and reduce operating costs by streamlining business and data management processes. Prior to its ArcGIS and ArcFM implementation, OUC supported utility operations with a combination of AutoCAD, desktop mapping software, and paper maps.

The decision to move to a fully automated, enterprise environment came in response to the need for better management of disparate data. After a detailed evaluation period, the utility selected ArcGIS and ArcFM to automate, streamline, and simplify many different business functions using a single, readily accessible database environment. There is an extensive Esri and Miner and Miner GIS community in central Florida. OUC saw this community as an additional resource to leverage for sharing information, resources, and ideas.

Esri provided software and on-site support. Miner and Miner provided software and implementation services, including data modeling, product implementation, and GIS integration with the existing outage analysis system. Esri Business Partner M.J. Harden Associates, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, took the lead in the conversion of electric utility infrastructure stored as computer-aided design data and paper maps of the water distribution system.

For more information, contact Mitchell Garnett, Esri (e-mail: mgarnett@esri.com).