Ameren Missouri Automates Utility Crew Callout With ARCOS

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - Jan 8, 2014) - Ameren Missouri will soon replace a manual crew callout process with the Software-as-a-Service ARCOS Suite, which automatically calls and assembles crews to restore power. Electric utilities such as Kansas City Power & Light have installed the ARCOS Suite and note a 30-minute reduction in the storm CAIDI* process because the utility reduced the time to identify and assemble available linemen.

The software from ARCOS replaces a process at Ameren Missouri in which dispatchers hand dial crews to locate available linemen for power restoration work. Ameren Missouri plans to have the ARCOS Suite in place next year for approximately 1,400 electric workers.

Ameren Missouri has always responded to calls for power restoration, but with the ARCOS Suite the utility aims for more efficiency. During outages, the automated callout software can call crews while dispatchers focus on preparing crews for what they might find at the scene of an outage.

With ARCOS in place, Ameren Missouri dispatchers can initiate an automated callout with the click of a button. Crews will be alerted in seconds to the trouble via mobile phone, pager, home phone, text or email. The automatic ARCOS call for crews electronically mimics the callout process and rules exactly as outlined by the agreement with the IBEW.

"With ARCOS, the average time to assemble a crew after hours typically drops from 60 minutes or more to just a few minutes, getting the lights on sooner for customers," said Bruce Duff, chief executive officer of ARCOS LLC.

Ameren Missouri serves 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis area.

About ARCOS LLC
Twenty-three of the top 25 U.S. utilities rely on the ARCOS^® Callout and Scheduling Suite. When the power goes out, a gas leak is reported or another emergency occurs, the award-winning, SaaS-based ARCOS Suite instantaneously finds, assembles and tracks repair crews, reducing outage interruptions and improving restoration time for electric, gas and power plant utilities. For more information, visit www.arcos-inc.com or call 614-396-5500.

* CAIDI stands for Customer Average Interruption Duration Index, which electric power utilities use as a measure of reliability.