Designing for Tomorrow: A Modern Utility with a Growing Mission
Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s longest-serving energy provider, serves 1.4 million customers across a wide and varied region, from the border town of Douglas to the solar fields of Gila Bend and the pines of Payson. As APS continued expanding its clean energy initiatives and capital portfolio, it needed a more scalable, standardized way to produce utility designs.
The solution was Automated Utility Design (AUD) from SBS, but what began as a focused GIS integration project quickly evolved into a company-wide transformation.
A Scope That Grew with Complexity
The AUD implementation kicked off in 2019. Initially, the project aimed to integrate AUD with the GIS environment. But in the years that followed, APS encountered shifting priorities, new system upgrades, and emerging opportunities that expanded the scope significantly.
“We originally set out to connect AUD with GIS,” said Naomi Prieto, T&D Engineering and Design Manager at APS. “But the scope expanded as Maximo upgrades came into play, and suddenly we were navigating parallel system overhauls that had to land at the same time.”
By 2023, APS was not only integrating with GIS and Maximo but also rolling out an overhauled compatible units (CU) catalog, updating AutoCAD, and introducing new construction standards.
Phased Rollout, Widespread Impact
The team launched training in April or 2023 and completing the rollout by August. More than 180 internal and contract designers were trained through a phased approach. APS encouraged its engineering service providers to attend training sessions alongside internal staff, helping ensure consistency across all design contributors.
Reinventing the Way APS Designs
The AUD rollout was more than a technical implementation. It also required APS to rethink how it structured and visualized designs. Historically, multiple circuits were represented as single lines in AutoCAD, leading to cluttered and hard-to-interpret designs. While this method worked in the past, it was long overdue for modernization.
“The way we used to design just didn’t work anymore,” said Giles. “We had to rethink everything.”
Working closely with SBS, APS developed a schematic expansion tool that allowed designers to use simplified visual representations in the design while producing GIS-friendly circuit-specific outputs in the background. Designers could configure conduit and conductor details directly in the drawing, with automatic updates applied during schematic expansion.
“SBS literally saved the day with this update,” said Mark Keslar, Designer at APS.
“A cut-in that used to take 15 minutes now takes three. It changed everything for us.”
Supporting Long-Term Adoption
To support users post-deployment, APS established a SharePoint site with categorized guides, walkthrough videos, and searchable designer alerts. This central hub complemented live support channels and helped users quickly find answers during early adoption.
“We used the AUD implementation as an opportunity to standardize our design practices,” said Prieto. “The tool is only as good as the processes behind it, so we focused on aligning our standards with the system as we rolled it out.”
A Foundation for Future Innovation
As APS continues building its internal capacity to administer and enhance AUD, the team reflects on the value of tight collaboration between IT, operations, and vendor teams. The combination of business fluency and technical insight was critical to the rollout’s success.
“We were lucky to have the right mix of people,” said Prieto. “Our project managers from SBS and IT were excellent, and Justin’s knowledge of both the design process and the underlying technology made a huge difference.”
With AUD now in place, APS is better equipped to deliver high-quality designs faster, reduce field rework, and support its evolving energy mission with scalable, intelligent design tools.