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OPD Unveils PowerWatch Mobile App to Boost Grid Reliability Following 150,000-Resident Outage

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  Published in Travel and Leisure on Tuesday, November 11th 2025 at 12:37 GMT by WOWT.com

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OPD Launches New “PowerWatch” App to Boost Grid Reliability After Recent Outage

Following a widespread power outage that left more than 150,000 residents of Oklahoma without electricity for several hours last month, the Oklahoma Public Utility Department (OPD) has unveiled a new mobile application – PowerWatch – aimed at improving communication, transparency, and reliability across the state’s electric grid. The announcement, made during a press conference on Thursday, 11 November 2025, comes at a time when OPD is under increasing scrutiny from regulators, industry partners, and the public to demonstrate measurable gains in reliability and resilience.

The Outage That Sparked the Initiative

The blackout that triggered the app’s development began on Saturday, 8 November, when a severe thunderstorm slammed the western part of the state with wind gusts exceeding 70 mph and a barrage of hail. The storm damaged a cluster of transmission lines and substations, causing a cascading failure that knocked out power to several counties in the Wichita, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City regions. According to OPD’s outage report – linked in the original article – the event left approximately 148,000 customers without power for an average of 5.3 hours before services were fully restored. The cause was traced to a combination of mechanical failure and inadequate line maintenance in the affected corridors.

OPD’s chief reliability officer, Dr. Lisa Martinez, emphasized that while the grid’s core infrastructure had survived the storm, the incident highlighted gaps in real‑time monitoring and customer communication. “We recognized that our existing systems were not agile enough to keep customers informed during a large‑scale outage,” Martinez said. “PowerWatch is designed to bridge that gap, giving customers instant updates, clear restoration timelines, and a direct line to report problems.”

Features of PowerWatch

Real‑Time Outage Mapping
Users can view a live map that pinpoints outage locations, the number of customers affected, and the expected restoration time. The map pulls data directly from OPD’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, ensuring accuracy within seconds.

Customer‑Reporting Interface
The app includes a simple reporting tool that allows customers to submit outage reports, photos, or safety concerns. Each report triggers an automatic acknowledgment and, if relevant, a field‑service ticket.

Personalized Alerts
PowerWatch pushes notifications to users’ smartphones regarding any outages in their vicinity, changes to restoration schedules, and safety advisories. Users can opt‑in to receive alerts in multiple languages.

Educational Resources
The app offers a “Grid 101” section that explains how the electric system works, tips for preventing outages, and information on how consumers can reduce their vulnerability during storms.

Reliability Dashboard
OPD has integrated a transparency dashboard that aggregates key reliability metrics – such as SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) and SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) – over the past year. Users can view trends, compare performance against industry benchmarks, and download reports for their own records.

Integration with Emergency Services
PowerWatch can be linked to local emergency services (e.g., fire, police, emergency medical services) to streamline coordination during large‑scale outages or natural disasters. This feature was highlighted by OPD’s emergency liaison, Tom Hernandez, as “a game‑changer for community resilience.”

How OPD Plans to Use the App to Improve Reliability

Beyond improved communication, OPD is using the app data to refine its reliability strategy. The department has set a target of reducing SAIDI to 7 hours by 2027, an improvement of 15 percent from the 2024 baseline of 8 hours. PowerWatch’s granular outage data will allow OPD to identify recurring fault points, prioritize maintenance on critical infrastructure, and evaluate the effectiveness of its preventive programs.

The department is also investing in smart grid technologies, such as automated reclosers and battery storage systems, to provide rapid restoration once a fault is isolated. “PowerWatch is the front door of a larger reliability overhaul,” Martinez said. “The insights we gain from customer reports and outage analytics will feed directly into our infrastructure investment decisions.”

Partnerships and Funding

OPD’s reliability initiative is backed by a $75 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience Program, earmarked for technology upgrades, workforce training, and the deployment of new monitoring equipment. Additionally, OPD is partnering with the Oklahoma City Power & Water Utility (OCPWU) and the Tulsa Electric Cooperative to pilot a cross‑utility outage notification system that will allow residents in shared service areas to receive consistent alerts regardless of their utility provider.

Community Response

Early feedback from residents has been positive. Jane Smith, a resident of Tulsa’s East Side, said she was “surprised at how quickly I got a notification and how detailed the status was.” Similarly, a small business owner in Oklahoma City praised the app for helping him “plan my staffing and keep my customers informed” during the outage.

Looking Ahead

OPD’s launch of PowerWatch is part of a broader push to transform the state’s electric grid into a more resilient, data‑driven system. The department plans to roll out additional features over the next year, including predictive outage alerts powered by machine learning and a community forum for local stakeholders to discuss reliability topics.

For more detailed information, OPD has made available the full reliability report at [ https://www.opd.gov/reliability-report ] and the PowerWatch app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play. As the state navigates an increasingly volatile climate and a complex grid, the new app represents a tangible step toward keeping Oklahoma’s lights on and its residents better informed.