Tacoma Power Selects CGI to Automate Electric Network Operations
February 04 2009 - 8:30AM
PR Newswire (US)
Stock Market Symbols GIB.A (TSX) GIB (NYSE) TACOMA, WA, Feb. 4
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CGI Group Inc. (TSX: GIB.A; NYSE: GIB), a
leading provider of information technology and business process
services, will partner with Tacoma Power, a division of Tacoma
Public Utilities, to automate outage and network operations
utilizing CGI's PragmaLINE Distribution/Outage Management solution
(D/OMS). CGI will manage the integration of JCMB's Fusion solution
suite, which will extract and generate connectivity for the
PragmaLINE D/OMS, as well as LiveData's RTI architecture, in order
to establish a real-time ICCP interface between the supervisory
control and data acquisition/energy management (SCADA/EMS) system
and D/OMS solution. As part of system implementation, interfaces
will be developed to Tacoma Power's current customer information
(CIS), work management (WMS), and geographic information (GIS)
systems, as well as to its SCADA/EMS solution. An interface to
Tacoma Power's new interactive voice response (IVR) application is
also critical to support customer service and will be completed as
part of this project. CGI's PragmaLINE D/OMS will provide
state-of-the-art tools for managing all trouble dispatch for Tacoma
Power's electric distribution networks. PragmaLINE will analyze
operating data to help predict and monitor potential distribution
network failures, allowing Tacoma Power to handle day-to-day
network operations more efficiently. Under outage conditions, the
system will accept customer outage calls from the IVR and a manual
call taking application and indicate the probable source of
failure, reducing restoration time and improving customer service
levels. Integration with Tacoma Power's work management system will
also allow the automated transfer of outage jobs to field personnel
who currently receive their work wirelessly through a mobile
dispatch application, as well as the accurate recording and
reporting of the steps taken to restore service. Gary Armfield,
Tacoma Power superintendent, remarked, "Integraging the advanced
capabilities of CGI's D/OMS with Tacoma Power's existing systems
will contribute to faster outage prediction and restoration,
streamlined switching operations and improved safety of our field
crews and customers." "CGI is committed to providing Tacoma and its
customers with critical solutions in the key areas of customer
service and delivery reliability through its end-to-end
distribution/outage management solution" concluded Andre Bouchard,
Sector Vice-President of CGI's Utility Solutions and Services.
CGI's utility solutions and expertise span the horizontal workflow
between customers, control rooms and crews, bringing benefits to a
global customer base rooted in the electric, gas and water utility
markets. CGI enables the real-time management of business-critical
processes by offering a modular and highly configurable solutions
portfolio that includes outage, network and mobile workforce
management as well as power engineering analysis tools. Utility
clients include Exelon Energy Delivery, Baltimore Gas &
Electric, Hydro-Quebec, Hydro One, Idaho Power, Oklahoma Gas and
Electric, Public Service Electric and Gas and Southern California
Edison. About CGI Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is one of the
largest independent information technology and business process
services firms in the world. CGI and its affiliated companies
employ approximately 25,000 professionals. CGI provides end-to-end
IT and business process services to clients worldwide from offices
in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific as well as from
centers of excellence in North America, Europe and India. CGI's
annual revenue run rate stands at $4.0 billion and at December 31,
2008, CGI's order backlog was $11.4 billion. CGI shares are listed
on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB) and are included in the
S&P/TSX Composite Index as well as the S&P/TSX Capped
Information Technology and MidCap Indices. Website:
http://www.cgi.com/. About Tacoma Power Tacoma Power serves 165,000
customers in Pierce County, Washington including the cities of
Tacoma, University Place, Fircrest and portions of Fife, Lakewood,
Federal Way and Steilacoom, as well as Fort Lewis, McChord Air
Force Base and other portions of Pierce County.
http://www.tacomapower.com/. About JCMB JCMB Technology provides
innovative software technologies and services to the Electric, Gas
and Water industries. Established in 1995, JCMB has extensive
experience in Distribution Network Modeling and Mobile Computing
Systems, focusing on Distribution Network data accuracy and
connectivity. The company's website: http://www.jcmb.com/. About
LiveData Specializing in real-time integration and display
technology, LiveData builds state-of-the-art systems for
healthcare, utility, manufacturing, and government organizations.
LiveData software brings together data from any number of sources
and presents it as meaningful information on easy-to-read graphic
displays. Leading medical institutions, including Massachusetts
General Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, have selected LiveData
OR-Dashboard(TM) to enhance patient safety, improve team
communication and streamline perioperative workflow. Founded in
1991, LiveData is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The
company's website is http://www.livedata.com/. DATASOURCE: CGI
GROUP INC. CONTACT: Media: Lorne Gorber, Vice-President, Global
Communications and Investor Relations, (514) 841-3355, ; Business
development: Barbara McCabe, Director, Consulting Services, (619)
223-7458
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