West Boylston Municipal Light Plant (WBMLP) provides dependable electric power to the residents and businesses of historic West Boylston, Massachusetts. For over 100 years, 8,300 citizen owners have depended on WBMLP for safe, reliable, and cost-effective service. Given the utility's aggressive goals for decarbonization and electrification, WBMLP needed a better way to anticipate system needs and manage its infrastructure. 

Challenge

WBMLP is proud of its reliability record, and the utility needs to maintain this high-quality service as customer behaviors change. Electrification in West Boylston is rapidly advancing both electric vehicle and heat pump adoption. Responding to these needs demands detailed electric system information in the office and the field.

The traditional paper-based circuit maps and single-line diagrams lacked sufficient detail. Moreover, they were challenging to modify, keep current, and reproduce. These maps lacked true locations of assets like poles, pull boxes, and transformers. As a result, field crews struggled to locate some facilities, particularly when hidden by vegetation or snow.