Intergraph, which provides utility and communications sectors support for integrated operations and infrastructure management solutions, has announced that it will extend its InService Outage Management Systems (OMS) and Mobile Workforce Management (MWFM) solutions to Westar Energy, Inc., provider of electric energy across Kansas, USA in a deal partially funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's smart grid investment grant.

The U.S. Department of Energy acknowledging the effectiveness of Westar Energy's SmartStar Program decided to extend its smart grid investment grant. The program from Westar Energy has been developed by the company to help its customers improve the management of their personal energy use whilst at the same time helping the company develop reliable power supply by deploying smart grid technology.

Westar Energy was looking for a comprehensive solution which could help it improve business operations and help in the effective utilization and performance of its assets to drive the green initiatives in its new SmartStar Program. Additionally, the company wanted to encourage an efficient system of data maintenance and develop advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and metering data management system (MDMS) integrated functionality.

After careful evaluation, Westar Energy decided to implement the InService system developed by Intergraph which provides a geospatial map shared via mobile devices by both dispatchers and field personnel. The InService system helps in coordinating the tasks of both the dispatcher and the crew. By leveraging the InService MWFM, Westar can better manage and effectively coordinate routine equipment inspections as well as work management for short-cycle crews. Deploying these solutions, Westar was provided with an integrated restoration circuit map which provides accurate information on the route taken by dispatches and also helps keep a track of field crews dispatched for storm restoration work. 

In a release, Bill Campbell, senior vice president of Intergraph Security, Government and Infrastructure said that, “Intergraph's Smart Grid Command Center has been proven to improve situational awareness in the control center. As a solution provider, Intergraph's software technology, experience and innovative vision to implement and deploy an industry-leading outage management and mobile system creates a platform for future smart grid implementations in large utilities across the United States.”

In other news, Augusta Systems, Inc., of Morgantown, West Virginia, recently announced its acquisition by Intergraph Corp. (News - Alert) Huntsville, Ala.-headquartered Intergraph acquired the company to expand its software portfolio with Augusta's middleware technologies that power the intelligent convergence of devices, systems, and networks, the news release stated.Intergraph joins the West Virginia business community by offering its solutions globally from the company's new office at the Research Ridge business park in Morgantown.