IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2018 - 5

events require response by more
than one emergency responder, utility, or agency. in this regard, the utility
situational awareness system (usas)
system provides a data exchange
methodology for critical natural gas
infrastructure operators and government agencies ensuring a coordinated response, allowing them to share
information, provide situational awareness, and assist with decision support during a disaster. Based on the
status of each structure while maintaining confidentiality of the distribution systems for individual electric,
gas, water, phone, and cable utilities, the usas will provide almost
immediate status information to all
responders, allowing them to know
the extent of the event, the availability of infrastructure, such as accessibility to roads, bridges (open or
closed), electric status (on or off) and
the like-for each structure within the effected area. a coordinated
response can have cascading impacts throughout the energy supply
chain, providing a comprehensive
picture of the state of all utilities, and
optimizing restoration and the use of
critical resources.
Finally, in the "Viewpoint" column,
"Four steps to smart city success,"
Jesse Berst points out that most cities
fail badly at thinking big. this failure
puts their entire smart city effort at
risk. the lack of big-picture thinking,
i.e., holistic thinking and systems
thinking, has devastating consequences, including choosing the
wrong priorities, creating piecemeal
solutions that are trapped in departmental silos, reinventing wheels (and
paying for them multiple times), and
failing to capture synergies-opportunities to share infrastructure, share
costs, and share data. however, holistic thinking is only half the story; the
other half is a customer-centric mindset. Many governments still think of
citizens as inhabitants, not as customers. For one thing, serving citizens
is too limiting, as cities also serve
tourists, day workers, businesses,

investors, city staff, and many others.
For another, it is a useful reminder
that cities are competing for those
customers with all the other cities
that want to attract jobs, talent, and

tourists. the author discusses four
comprehensive steps that provide a
competitive advantage for establishing smart cities.

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IEEE Elec trific ation Magazine / j u n e 201 8

5
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Electrification Magazine - June 2018
