Products / Case study / SDG&E

Near-Real-Time Outage Map

Rebuilt SDG&E's outage map in 2 months: outage data went from every 4 hours to sub-300ms updates, and outage calls fell 20%+ per event.

Senior Technical Product Manager, Mobile / Marketing / CX | San Diego Gas & Electric (Sempra Energy)

  • 4 hours to sub-300ms updates
  • 8 pages to 1 map
  • 20%+ fewer outage calls per event
  • $1M+ saved a year
SDG&E outage map example

The challenge

The sdge.com outage map was underperforming. Outage data updated only once every 4 hours, the map was not usable on mobile devices, and it crashed during outages, exactly when customers needed it.

Outage information was spread across 8 separate web pages, so customers who could not find current status called the call center instead.

My role

My task was to build a new outage map that served what customers needed during an outage. I became the single-threaded owner of all customer-facing outage and fire safety information.

How I solved it

  1. 1

    Research the industry and our customers

    I studied how other energy companies delivered outage information, and combined call center data, customer feedback, web and app analytics, and grid operations input to set priorities.

  2. 2

    Design for simplicity

    One responsive map replaced 8 pages, with interactive data overlays and the most important information front and center. It worked on every device and inside the mobile app.

  3. 3

    Build on proven map technology

    We used our developers' expertise with Google products and Google's map display technology, and designed the map to hold up under high-volume outage events.

  4. 4

    Get the data faster than IT thought possible

    Several IT leaders said outage data could not come faster than every 4 hours. I worked directly with the responsible IT team on an API and SLA that first delivered new data every 5 minutes, then moved the map to near-real-time updates under 300 milliseconds.

  5. 5

    Measure every event

    We tracked call volume per outage event after launch to confirm the change held across later events.

Results

2 monthsto build and launch the new map
sub-300msupdates, down from every 4 hours
20%+fewer outage calls per event
$1M+saved a year
  • Performed without failure under severe load, including the unprecedented widespread outage of 2011.
  • Became a prominent feature on live TV coverage and a core tool in every Emergency Operations Center event.
  • Extended outage information to mobile devices and the mobile app, widening the channels customers could use.
  • Saved $80K per major outage in call center costs; across 10 to 20 outage and fire safety events a year, that is $1M+ a year.

Tools and stack

  • Google Maps platform
  • Outage data API and SLA
  • Responsive web
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Push notifications
  • Google Analytics
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