SEMCO Energy Gas Company transitions to Esri’s Utility Network

Ann Arbor, Mich.  ‒ SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company (SEMCO), headquartered in Port Huron, Michigan, is one of the first gas utilities to convert to Esri’s ArcGIS Utility Network for transmission and distribution assets.

The final data conversion to the Utility Network is live for SEMCO’s GIS data editors, with plans underway to expand the platform to Engineering and Planning. Additionally, a new Web GIS platform for more than 200 users in the office and the field is live and will provide SEMCO with functionalities including outage mapping, tracing and leak surveying. The new data model and platform will support the utility’s GIS growth over the next decade.

With help from consulting firm POWER Engineers, Incorporated (POWER), SEMCO completed several initial planning steps helping to set the ArcGIS Pro implementation and Utility Network data conversion up for success.

“POWER performed our Utility Network Readiness Assessment, so going into the full Utility Network migration, we already knew the expertise they brought to the table in terms of planning, configuration, execution and the character of their team,” said Scott Torello, Utility Network Project Lead at SEMCO.

The team tailored Esri’s Utility Pipeline Data Model to meet SEMCO’s current GIS operations and iterated through several cycles of data conversion and data model adjustments. To ensure SEMCO’s success, the project also included migrating to the new Utility Network-based symbology, building a custom Pro plugin to their document management system and delivering custom training on ArcGIS Pro functionality and Utility Network editing and maintenance.

“The pandemic forced us to continue remotely on a project scope that originally called for key onsite working sessions. I was very impressed with how the teams on both sides carried on under difficult circumstances,” said Torello. “It took a continued resilience and dedication to see this project through, and I just can’t say enough about the effort put forth.”

“This project represents SEMCO’s ongoing commitment to GIS and future expansion,” said Beth Picardi, Utility Network Project Manager at POWER. “It has been a true privilege to work with them on this new and exciting technology.”

About POWER Engineers

POWER Engineers is a global consulting engineering and environmental firm specializing in integrated solutions for clients in the energy, renewables, food and beverage, government, agribusiness, and oil and gas industries. Founded in 1976, we are an employee-owned company with 45 offices and more than 2,800 employees across North America. For more information, please visit www.powereng.com. 

About SEMCO

SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company, a division of SEMCO Energy, Inc., and a wholly owned subsidiary of AltaGas, Inc., is headquartered in Port Huron, Michigan. SEMCO is a regulated public utility that delivers natural gas to approximately 300,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Michigan. Service territories include portions of the southern half of the state’s Lower Peninsula (including in and around the cities of Albion, Battle Creek, Holland, Niles, Port Huron and Three Rivers) and in the central, eastern and western parts of the state’s Upper Peninsula.