Recent winter storms have again demonstrated how quickly power networks can be pushed beyond normal operating conditions.
During Winter Storm Fern, electric cooperative outages peaked at approximately 400,000 consumer-members, before being reduced substantially over the following days as restoration efforts progressed across affected regions (America’s Electric Cooperatives). Events at this scale highlight how rapidly operational risk escalates and how critical accurate network data becomes when decisions must be made under pressure.
At NM Group, we consistently see that utilities with accurate, up-to-date engineering models are better positioned to assess conditions, prioritise action, and support restoration as weather-driven impacts intensify.
Why Model Accuracy Matters in Extreme Conditions
Under routine operations, small data gaps can remain hidden. During severe ice, wind, and cold-weather events, those gaps become exposed.
Ice loading, wind-on-ice combinations, and cold-weather sag can quickly push assets into unfamiliar operating territory, leaving little margin for assumption-based decisions.
Reliable engineering models allow teams to:
- Validate how the network is likely to behave
- Confirm clearances and structural utilization
- Understand where vulnerabilities are most likely to emerge
When time is critical, confidence in the data matters.
What NM Group Recommends Utilities Focus On
Based on our work across transmission and sub-transmission networks, NM Group encourages a practical, engineering-led approach to resilience.
Maintain Engineering-Grade PLS-CADD Models
Models should reflect the true as-built condition of the network, not legacy design intent. Alignment with field conditions ensures models remain usable when time-critical decisions are required.
Assess Performance Under Severe Scenarios
High-fidelity models support analysis of:
- Heavy ice cases
- Combined wind-on-ice loading
- Cold-weather sag-tension behavior
- Worst-case operating envelopes
These scenarios define system risk during major events.
Identify Vulnerabilities Before Failure
Accurate data enables targeted analysis to locate clearance risks, overutilized structures, and spans approaching capacity limits, supporting focused hardening and reinforcement strategies.
Support Restoration With Accurate Network Context
When emergency or mutual-aid crews are deployed, often from outside the service territory, high-resolution aerial LiDAR and imagery provide rapid situational awareness of unfamiliar networks, assets, and access routes.
Planning for What’s Next
Extreme weather is no longer an outlier.
Utilities that treat network data as a strategic asset are better equipped to manage risk, support restoration, and plan future resilience with confidence.
At NM Group, our focus is on supporting utilities with engineering data they can trust, not just during storms, but in the decisions made long before the next event arrives.
We welcome continued discussion across the industry on how data readiness can support safer, faster decision-making during extreme events.
