Real-Time Storm Response: How a Major Utility Transformed Hurricane Recovery with Noteworthy AI

As a major Southeastern investor-owned-utility (IOU) faced a turbulent storm season with multiple hurricanes striking their service territory in a matter of days, the company turned to Noteworthy AI to revolutionize their storm response efforts.

Facing unprecedented stakes, the utility was driven by the critical need to swiftly assess damage and restore power across its service area.

Check out this case study to see how Noteworthy AI's cutting-edge technology provided this IOU with real-time damage assessments for both Hurricanes Helene and Milton, supporting rapid decision-making and efficient restoration efforts.

The Challenge: Traditional Methods Fall Short

Restoring power after a massive storm is a race against time. Utility companies must assess widespread damage to provide accurate estimated times of restoration (ETRs) and prioritize repairs. Traditional assessment methods, however, often involve labor-intensive inspections and can take up to 24 hours to report back actionable details. The delay in reporting not only slows down restoration efforts, but also amplifies the frustration among stakeholders.

For this Southeastern IOU, the challenge was clear: with an intense barrage of storms pummeling their service territory, they needed a faster, more efficient way to understand the scope of damage and prioritize repairs.

The Solution: Leveraging Inspect Edge for Rapid Insights

To address this critical timing challenge, Noteworthy AI deployed multiple Inspect Edge units across the utility’s storm-impacted areas. Over five days, these vehicle roof-mounted sensors delivered a full-service data collection operation, dramatically transforming the utility's ability to respond to the crisis. Key features of the solution included:

• High-Resolution Imaging: Captured geolocated, high-resolution imagery of over 17,000 utility poles.
• Real-Time Damage Analysis: Identified more than 500 critical defects, including severely leaning poles, open bypass switches, and cracked poles, with results automatically uploaded to the cloud within minutes.
• Seamless Integration: Provided actionable insights in a map-centric platform, enabling immediate prioritization of high-impact repairs.

The Results: Speed and Precision in Action

Noteworthy AI's solution delivered results that were nothing short of transformative:

• 50x Faster Damage Assessments: Damage assessments that previously took up to 24 hours to report, were now completed within minutes, providing geolocated, pole-specific analysis in near real-time.
• Optimized Field Operations: Power and lighting assets were inspected and evaluated in a single truck roll, reducing resource requirements and accelerating response times.
• Pinpointed Damage Locations: Critical defects such as severely leaning poles (>10 degrees), open cutouts, branches on wires, and cracked poles were identified with precision, enabling targeted repair efforts.
• FEMA Documentation Support: Delivered the necessary documentation to support FEMA disaster assistance applications, ensuring compliance and financial recovery.

A New Benchmark for Hurricane Recovery

In the wake of a major hurricane, this utility demonstrated how leveraging innovative technology can revolutionize storm response. With Noteworthy AI's Inspect suite, they turned a daunting challenge into an opportunity to showcase resilience and efficiency, restoring power faster than ever before.

As extreme weather events become more frequent, it becomes even more incumbent on utilities to adopt solutions that not only keep pace with the growing challenges faced but also set new benchmarks for service and performance.

Noteworthy AI stands ready to partner with utilities nationwide, empowering them to achieve smarter, faster, and more effective storm responses.

Want to learn more? Reach out and explore how together we can make your storm response efforts more efficient and scalable.