Redlands, Calif., January 5, 2011 — Carroll Electric Cooperative Corporation recently enlisted geographic information system technology from Esri to help secure funding from Rural Utilities Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The utility, serving northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri, used GIS to prepare a new system analysis and facility planning report, both crucial for the loan justification.

Carroll Electric’s move to GIS marks a significant improvement in how the utility maintains system records and displays data analysis—an improvement that was especially beneficial to the RUS reporting process.

GIS has changed the way Carroll Electric utility executives, engineers, operators, and crew visualize and study the electric network. Staff can access information about routing and cost to make confident recommendations for system improvements.

The utility uses GIS to keep a record of these planned system improvements and to prepare appropriate documents for environmental reviews. Additionally, Carrol Electric can more easily maintain infrastructure data, analyze customer use for growth projection, and monitor the load flow of the electric network.