Navigating the Pandemic How El Paso Maintained Service Continuity with RedEye

The Company

El Paso Electric (EPE) is a key provider of electricity, engaged in the generation, transmission, and distribution of power. Serving approximately 460,000 customers, EPE operates within a 10,000-square mile area in the Rio Grande Valley, encompassing major cities such as El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

EPE’s dedication to reliability and innovation is demonstrated through its extensive efforts to modernize the power grid and increase renewable energy generation. These initiatives are focused on delivering safe, clean, and dependable energy, while enhancing customer satisfaction through improved service reliability and the introduction of innovative programs.

In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, EPE embarked on a significant digital transformation to maintain uninterrupted services. By adopting new safety protocols and partnering with Accruent, EPE implemented an advanced document management system that could support their business continuity operations.

The Challenge

In response to outage incidents, the EPE system operations teams isolate and reroute parts of their network to minimize outage impacts and restore power safely and as quickly as possible to their customers. EPE dispatches crews to isolate faults, incidents and close or open switches around isolated segments. Effective, swift, and accurate communication between the systems operations office and field crews is essential.

Pre-COVID, EPE systems operators were able to communicate changes to their system status via large paper diagrams and physical pen to paper changes. There was a time where the operator was looking at maps while communicating to the field personnel ordering switch changes over the phone.

The Solution

El Paso Electric needed a solution-based partner and reached out to Accruent and began the process of migrating to their single source of truth, RedEye. Over the course of a few months, the transition to RedEye progressed smoothly. With a small number of maps needed to be accessed by operators and support staff during storm events, going forward EPE can access their most up-to-date and accurate documents and drawings in digital form via mobile devices.

Recognizing the need for a digital solution to fill their communication gap around their one line diagrams, EPE approached Accruent to begin the journey of long-term improvement. The pandemic imposed major limitations to EPE’s day-to-day operations. There were various protocols that needed to be taken to assure that EPE’s processes could continue running effectively and safely. The support team was able to work remotely, however critical function employees needed to report in-person.

Separate morning and night shifts made it increasingly difficult to continue to work on one line paper diagrams as well as track changes during each shift. At times, handwriting was difficult to read, posing risks such as sending field personnel to open a switch and not being 100% confident if another one was opened.

Accruent partnered with the Systems Operations team to ensure that RedEye met their specific use case, in several cases enhancing existing functionality to meet their requirements.

The Benefits

Joe and his team can look at one-line diagrams from their phones or iPads via native apps for iOS and Android and can put their plans together to reduce downtime in mission critical outages. By connecting teams digitally to view the same information real-time, EPE’s operations are safer.

With the transition to RedEye complete, one-line diagrams for the entire EPE network area can now be accessed by the control room, field crews, and the wider organization 24/7. Going forward, EPE can access their most up-to-date and accurate documents and drawings in digital form via mobile devices. Utilizing RedEye has helped EPE build trust and collaboration across their remote teams.

Joe and his team can look at one-line diagrams from their phones and tablets and can put their plans together to reduce downtime in mission critical outages. By connecting teams digitally to view the same information real-time, EPE’s operations are now more efficient and safer.

This situation justified the use of RedEye.”

– Joe Natividad, Manager of System Operations