LAFAYETTE — The Lafayette Utilities System will be launching a new outage map on its website later this year.
LUS officials say a "slimmed-down version" of the map will go online just before hurricane season begins. That version will include a visual display of the information LUS has. If an outage is reported, the map will highlight the area and digitally display it on the map. Users can subscribe to individual outages to receive updates via text or email notification.
In addition to power outages, the new map will show boil water advisories, tree-trimming locations, water line breaks, and street closures for repair work. The outage management system should be fully operational by early 2022. Full automation is expected in the middle of 2022.
LUS officials say the system will be a "very manual process" at first, but it will be automated as more systems get integrated.
"We want the customers and the general public to know what we're doing," Jeff Stewart, LUS operations manager, said. "We want them to know that we know what's going on. They can still call us if they want, but we want to show them that we see it, that we're working on it, and that we'll get it taken care of quickly. We see this as a very proactive communication tool."
"I ask that our customers be patient with it," Stewart added. "We have a lot of learning to do, but we're just as excited as our customers are to be rolling this out."
