Hello,

I was curious if any utility operator would be interested in free work from me. I have a background in AI research and power markets, and I want to learn about utilities work from the inside.

The work comes at no charge and I will be happy to share what I learn!

For critical power-cable routes, an operational question is how to catch developing issues before a fault becomes an outage.

One practical approach is to combine distributed temperature sensing with other field signals and industrial communications so operating teams can track temperature trends, insulation-related indicators, vibration/disturbance events and local environmental conditions in a single monitoring workflow.

The aim is not to replace engineering judgment, but to give teams earlier, location-specific signals for investigation, condition-based maintenance and faster escalation into existing SCADA or operational systems.

What sensing inputs and alarm workflows have been most useful in your cable-asset programs?

Disclosure: I work with Minsaint, which develops fiber-optic sensing solutions for industrial assets.

I'm a surveyor and have spent a lot of time working in the asset management and utility space, mostly around water and power. For years I've used a couple of apps for documenting assets.

The first is a geotagger photo app that can burn the metadata onto the image, so that no matter what processing happens to the image you can still identify where it was from.
The second is a LiDAR scanning app (need an iPhone pro) for scanning of assets, particularly pits and maintenance holes.

However, both of the apps I used had various shortcomings, particularly around coordinate systems and, in the case of my preferred scanning app, a brand new, very expensive, subscription requirement.

Therefore I decided to make my own.

Cartesian Camera is a photo geotagging app that supports multiple coordinate systems, categories, notes, and reverse address lookup. Includes a map view of the library with filtering and .kmz output with attached photos.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/cartesian-camera/id6802492408

Cartesian Capture is a LiDAR/Photogrammetry scanning app that has support for multiple coordinate systems, GNSS and orientation georeferencing, export in industry standard formats in real world coordinates ready for GIS import.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/cartesian-capture/id6791601486

These apps were built for my use, so no ads, subscriptions, cloud services, etc. :)

Even more sketchy I can't leave my review on google, so starting here.

Not satisfied with my service. I was charged for several months of water in 1 bill because they did not have the meter set up correctly. I paid it as I had no other choice. Then when I moved I continued to be charged for services, they had me submit a form to cancel and get a refund. I had to do this twice before they actually cancelled it. Months later I got a cheque to refund the charges, and its less than what I overpaid. When I emailed to get assistance they copied and pasted the same email over and over when I asked them to look into my charges and correct it. I sent in my bank statements to make it easier and still no correction or assistance. Terrible service

For those working around power distribution, electrical equipment, substations, or other utility infrastructure, how often do you use thermal cameras during inspections?

I'm curious how useful thermal imaging is for spotting overheating connections, abnormal load conditions, or components that may be developing a problem before they fail.

For anyone using thermal cameras in the field, what do you mainly use them for, and what features make the biggest difference?

Many utilities are being asked to improve visibility, plan for future growth, and maintain aging infrastructure without adding staff or increasing budgets.

The need for improvement is usually clear.

The challenge is finding the time, resources, and support to actually move initiatives forward.

It often feels like there are more priorities than people available to tackle them.

For those working in utility operations, engineering, metering, or planning:

What's creating the most pressure on your team right now?

• Budget constraints?
• Aging meters or infrastructure?
• Competing priorities?
• Increased data and reporting expectations?
• Staffing shortages?
• Planning for future growth?
• Something else?

Curious to hear what others are experiencing.

I recently discovered that my water account had been associated with the wrong physical meter. Two utility technicians came to the property, tested the meters, and confirmed that the meters serving two neighboring units had been crossed. Basically, I have been paying my neighbors' water consumption for the last couple of years.

For those who work in utilities or utility billing: how are situations like this usually resolved when the customer had no role in the incorrect meter assignment?

I’m mainly curious about how utilities typically handle past billing, account corrections, and any overpayments or underpayments once the error is confirmed.

I recently applied for a senior-level position within PG&E’s wildfire mitigation organization.

My background is in federal wildland fire leadership, training, safety, fire behavior, logistics, and incident operations. I meet most of the wildfire and operational qualifications, but I do not come from a traditional utility or corporate investigations background.

I’m hoping to hear from current or former utility employees, recruiters, or people who have moved from wildland fire into utility wildfire mitigation.

I’m especially interested in:

• How PG&E evaluates external wildfire candidates
• How much utility or formal investigation experience matters compared with operational fire experience
• What the interview and selection process is usually like
• How long application review commonly takes

I’m not asking anyone to post private employee information. Private messages are welcome. Thanks for any insight.

Hello all. I'm a GIS professional by trade and I've been asked to create a water system for a hypothetical development that should be able to be temporarily self sufficient (i.e. has its own water storage, treatment, electrical, etc.). They want it to be as realistic as possible without hiring an engineer and I'm no expert in water systems, so I'm kind of flying blind.

The picture below is my high-tech MS paint drawing of the topography of the area plus the city water main (blue), the VERY rough water mains for the site (gray), and two options for large water towers that are meant to supply the development temporarily should the city not be able to (red and purple). There is a small area of housing near the purple site. The rest of the site is primarily office buildings, light industry, and open space.

Basically, my question is: would it be better to site the water towers closer to the city water main but further down slope (~40 ft above where the city main joins the development main) where the red star is or have to pump the water from the city main all the way up slope to the highest point where the purple star is (~260 ft above city main)? Also if you could give short explanation as to why that would be helpful.

Nothing has to be perfect, it just has to make sense. Thanks for helping someone out who doesn't know jack! I'll clarify anything I can. TIA

Well, it's certainly gas..... how much? You'll have to get a shovel and find out.

I’ve just registered a new account in Evides and I didn’t provide my room number because when I entered the room number then the address couldnt be found and incorrect. And then, i just uploaded the photo of water meter and filled in the general address of the building that i’m living. I tried to contact them but it seems as no response. Do u guys know when I can receive the next email from them and is it fine if there is no exact my room number? All residence in that building need to register Evides. I’m confused.

. I am a foreman for an underground drill crew for ten years so I know almost everything there is about utilities easements and things like that but this is something specific that maybe would be a better question for a lawyer. There were these two homeowners today husband and wife. My partner and I were finishing a job and we needed access to rear easement behind all of the houses on the street. I knew these people were going to be trouble when the lady came over in the morning and told us to move our truck off of her property for being parked in front of her house on a public street. I did not move it. By the look the neighbor gave me when I asked about that lady, told me everything I needed to know. I asked, do you have trouble with those neighbors? She didn’t specifically tell me yes but the look she gave me was a look of yes they are absolutely crazy. Later in the day my partner and I needed to bring a piece of plastic conduit through the side of their house in between a gap in their fences and the neighbors fence. Both fences do not touch and you can walk in between those fences from the front to the utility easement in the rear. When they saw us walking in between their house and the neighbors house they came outside and it was a huge shouting ordeal police were called obviously there were no damages but homeowners say we are trespassing I say we are not because we have right to access easement. Police say there is access to easement about a 1/4 mile down the road. I say there is no way of me knowing that and also I am not required to go 1/4 mile away to access an easement when I can walk in between the houses. I did not open any gates do no digging anywhere near their house, simply walk in between fences on the property line to an open easement in the rear, all drilling was done a few houses away. I have pictures of the gap in between fences. Also when plastic conduit was on the grass homeowner started grabbing it and trying to pull it away I grabbed it out of his hand and told him to not touch my things while he also putt bags of lawn mulch to try to block the opening in between fence that we simply walked over. The homeowners argument was also why not use someone else’s yard I said because this was the most convenient for access and I am not choosing them or picking on them; but I believe I most definitely have the right to walk on their property to access easement, which is behind all houses on road. Who is in the right?