There's a particular kind of stress that comes with not knowing, and at Mitchell EMC, that stress wasn't reserved for the big events. It showed up on an ordinary afternoon when a single transformer blew and a member called in, confused and without power. It showed up again, multiplied many times over, when severe weather rolled through southwest Georgia—a line of thunderstorms, a tornado warning, and the outer bands of a hurricane. Different situations, same challenge: operators didn't have a clear picture of what was happening, and building one took time they didn't have.
Before DataVoice, outage awareness at Mitchell EMC depended heavily on member phone calls. When the lines lit up, whether it was one call or a hundred, operators didn't yet have a picture of what was happening on the system. They had to build one, call by call, while manually cross-referencing information across multiple disconnected systems. Every outage meant piecing together fragments: how many members were affected, where the damage likely was, which crew was closest. All of it, gathered by hand, under pressure, while members waited on hold for answers nobody could give them yet.
That process can work for one blown transformer. It doesn't hold up once the calls start coming in faster than anyone can answer them.
The Turning Point
Mitchell EMC wasn't just looking for a system to log outages. They were looking for a better way to understand what was happening across their system in real time. They needed operators to spend less time gathering information and more time making decisions.
DataVoice OMS became that operational hub, not because it replaced the systems they already relied on, but because it connected them. Information that once lived in separate systems suddenly worked together, giving operators a complete picture of an outage as it unfolded. That transformation happened one operational challenge at a time. Every stage of outage response, from identifying the outage to restoring power, became faster, clearer, and more connected.
Before an operator could respond, they first had to know an outage existed. That often meant waiting for the first member phone calls before anyone understood what was happening.
Today, protective devices communicate directly with OMS through SCADA. Operators often know about an outage before the phones begin ringing, allowing restoration efforts to begin immediately.
Knowing an outage exists is only the beginning. Operators also need to understand what's happening on the system before they dispatch resources. AMI gives Mitchell EMC valuable meter-level visibility that helps validate outage conditions and confirm when service has been restored. That real-time insight allows operators to make decisions with greater confidence throughout the restoration process.
Dispatch decisions also changed. With AVL integration providing real-time visibility into crew locations, dispatchers can immediately see available resources and make informed assignments with confidence. What once required multiple conversations now happens in seconds.
The transformation didn’t stop in the control room. WorkPal extended that same real-time awareness into the field, giving crews access to assigned tickets, outage details, and device status without waiting on a callback from dispatch.
There's another benefit that doesn’t always show up in outage statistics but has become incredibly valuable in day-to-day operations: situational awareness. Before WorkPal, much of the information field crews needed stayed back at the office and had to be relayed over the radio or by phone. Today, crews have outage information, meter status, system details, and work assignments available on their iPads before they even arrive on site. That shared access helps everyone work from the same operational picture, improving communication between the office and the field while giving crews the context they need to do their jobs more efficiently.
The Daily Impact
Today, whether Mitchell EMC is responding to a single blown fuse or recovering from a major storm, the process is fundamentally the same. Operators work from a shared, real-time view of the system, dispatchers make informed decisions faster, and field crews have immediate access to the information they need.
Technology hasn't removed the challenges of restoring power, but it has removed much of the uncertainty that once surrounded every outage. Mitchell EMC describes the change this way:
“The improvement in situational awareness has significantly enhanced our ability to respond efficiently and keep members informed throughout the restoration process.”
Members experience the difference as well. Instead of wondering whether the utility is aware of an outage, they receive proactive updates throughout the restoration process. Fewer members feel the need to call because they already know Mitchell EMC is responding.
“Members appreciate knowing that we are already aware of the problem and actively working toward restoration.”
It’s a small shift in communication, but one that helps rebuild trust during some of the most stressful moments a member can experience, whether the outage is large or small.
The Partnership
Mitchell EMC doesn't describe DataVoice OMS simply as an outage management system. They describe it as the platform that connects the people, systems, and information required to restore power safely and efficiently.
Asked what advice they'd give another utility evaluating an OMS, Mitchell EMC didn't point to outage management features first. They pointed to integration:
“The real value of an OMS comes from its ability to bring together critical operational systems, such as SCADA, AMI, GIS, CIS, and member communications, into a single operational platform. An OMS should do more than manage outages — it should become a central operational tool that supports better decisions, faster restoration, and improved service to members.”
For Mitchell EMC, those integrations have transformed outage response from a process built on gathering information into one driven by real-time awareness. Whether responding to a single service interruption or a region-wide storm, operators, dispatchers, and field crews now share the same operational picture—giving them the confidence to respond faster, communicate better, and serve their members more effectively.
