DMS, GIS and planning data integration in a distribution utility using IEC 61970 CIM

DMS, GIS and Network Planning systems in a distribution utility address the same physical network and thus share a significant amount of common data. Yet they typically exist as separate systems and on separate platforms. Reasons for that include evolution of the systems, different ownership and responsibilities, and mainly different technical and operational requirements and constraints. Establishing interfaces and workflows between the systems for exchanging common data offers a big potential for reducing data maintenance costs and improving data consistency and quality. The paper presents a project that is currently (December 2012) in the acceptance phase at Sibelga, the distribution company responsible for the Brussels-Capital region of Belgium. The solution implements interfaces and workflows between the DMS and the GIS system. It also enables close integration of the Network Planning system. While a technical description of the solution has already been presented in [1], this paper focuses on the challenges that are quite typical for an integration project and how they were addressed in this particular case.