2 research outputs found
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Using data from connected thermostats to track large power outages in the United States
The detection of power outages is an essential activity for electric utilities. A large, national dataset of Internet-connected thermostats was used to explore and illustrate the ability of Internet-connected devices to geospatially track outages caused by hurricanes and other major weather events. The method was applied to nine major outage events, including hurricanes and windstorms. In one event, Hurricane Irma, a network of about 1000 thermostats provided quantitatively similar results to detailed utility data with respect to the number of homes without power and identification of the most severely affected regions. The method generated regionally uniform outage data that would give emergency authorities additional visibility into the scope and magnitude of outages. The network of thermostat-sensors also made it possible to calculate a higher resolution version of outage duration (or SAIDI) at a level of customer-level visibility that was not previously available
Tracking electricity losses and their perceived causes using nighttime light and social media
Urban environments are intricate systems where the breakdown of critical
infrastructure can impact both the economic and social well-being of
communities. Electricity systems hold particular significance, as they are
essential for other infrastructure, and disruptions can trigger widespread
consequences. Typically, assessing electricity availability requires
ground-level data, a challenge in conflict zones and regions with limited
access. This study shows how satellite imagery, social media, and information
extraction can monitor blackouts and their perceived causes. Night-time light
data (in March 2019 for Caracas, Venezuela) is used to indicate blackout
regions. Twitter data is used to determine sentiment and topic trends, while
statistical analysis and topic modeling delved into public perceptions
regarding blackout causes. The findings show an inverse relationship between
nighttime light intensity. Tweets mentioning the Venezuelan President displayed
heightened negativity and a greater prevalence of blame-related terms,
suggesting a perception of government accountability for the outages