Case Study: Westar Energy achieves faster storm response and saves lives with AccuWeather For Business

A Massive Ice Storm How One Utility Made the Right Decisions

Westar Energy faced a critical winter weather decision when forecasts diverged ahead of a January 2010 storm: government models predicted freezing rain in Wichita, while AccuWeather For Business forecast snow for Kansas but significant glaze ice in Oklahoma. With lives and safety at stake during prolonged outages, Westar relied on AccuWeather For Business’s site-specific forecasts and meteorologist consultations to evaluate risk and plan crew deployment.

AccuWeather For Business provided detailed, location-specific forecasts (updating predicted icing up to one inch in Oklahoma), enabling Westar to send crews to Oklahoma more than 24 hours before the storm and keep Kansas crews available. The pre-positioning helped crews arrive as the freezing rain began; at the storm’s peak over 500,000 Oklahomans were without power, reduced to 126,000 by Saturday, and Westar crews stayed to rebuild hundreds of poles (more than 7,000 customers remained out as of Feb 8). AccuWeather For Business’s guidance accelerated restoration, avoided unnecessary deployments in Kansas, and supported life- and infrastructure-saving decisions.

Westar Energy

Phil Sadler

Director, Distribution System Operations