Oncor and KYRO stormshield response management

Oncor’s Field Services Partner Accelerates Storm Recovery in Colorado City using KYRO StormShield

September 1, 2025
3 min read

About the Client

Oncor is the largest electric utility in Texas, delivering reliable power to more than 10 million residents through a vast network of transmission and distribution infrastructure. In spring 2018, a severe storm struck Colorado City, TX, taking down over 20 miles of 345kV transmission lines across challenging, rural terrain.  

Faced with extensive damage and difficult site access, one of Oncor’s field services vendor partnered with KYRO and deployed StormShield to enable rapid, safe, and coordinated recovery operations.

Impact in Numbers

  • Less than 24 hours to complete full damage assessment and recovery planning.
  • 100% of high-risk areas identified and flagged before crews entered the field.
  • Zero safety incidents reported during inspection and planning phases.

The Challenge

The storm’s impact created a complex recovery scenario:

  • The storms left transmission infrastructure damaged over a broad geographic footprint. Crews needed to quickly assess, and rank restoration sites based on criticality, balancing customer impact with safety and accessibility constraints.
  • The affected lines stretched through sandy, uneven ground where conventional vehicles struggled to mobilize. Access routes were limited, forcing crews to plan carefully and often rely on specialized off-road equipment.
  • Large portions of the impacted area cut through private ranchland and single-path corridors. This constrained how teams and heavy equipment could be positioned, adding time to both mobilization and setup for each repair site.
  • Many damaged poles were leaning or partially uprooted, creating the risk of collapse during handling. Combined with the presence of energized lines in certain sections, crews had to proceed with extra caution and coordinate closely with system operators.

These conditions meant that traditional on-foot inspections and manual coordination would be too slow and too dangerous to meet urgent restoration timelines.

The Solution

KYRO’s StormShield became the central hub for aerial inspection, crew routing, and safety oversight, enabling Oncor’s vendor to complete a full impact assessment and recovery plan in just 24 hours.

1. Aerial Damage Assessment

KYRO was integrated for capturing data and geotagged images of damaged transmission spans during aerial inspections. These images were uploaded instantly into the platform, enabling field planners and engineers to review high-risk areas remotely and avoid unnecessary exposure.

2. Real-Time Data & Dynamic Dashboards

As aerial and ground data flowed into KYRO, a live dashboard with a consolidated visual, pinned location data, and status updates were made. This gave restoration teams immediate insights into damage severity, resource needs, and work prioritization, supporting confident, data-driven decisions.

3. Risk Zone Mapping for Crew Logistics

Using KYRO’s maps with color-coded risk zones, contractors identified the most affected areas first and deployed crews accordingly. This ensured equipment and teams reached priority sites quickly, minimizing travel delays in remote ranchlands and single-path ROW zones.

4. Safety-Centric Planning

Potential hazards, including energized lines, unstable poles, and roadway crossings, were flagged directly on the digital map. Crews accessed the latest safety intelligence before entering the field, ensuring a proactive, safety-first approach.

5. Digital Forms & Timesheet Tracking

Crews used KYRO’s mobile-friendly inspection and daily report forms to log completed tasks, material usage, and work hours on-site. This eliminated paper trails, provided real-time labor cost visibility, and ensured accurate reporting for both contractors and utilities.

6. Rapid, End-to-End Assessment

From the storm’s initial impact to a fully coordinated recovery plan, the complete damage evaluation process was finished within a single day, dramatically reducing downtime and accelerating restoration efforts.

By pairing aerial data with cutting-edge platform like KYRO’s StormShield, helped Oncor quickly figure out what was damaged, decide what to fix first, and plan the restoration safely. Crews knew exactly where to go and what to expect, avoiding risky guesswork.  

This smart approach kept everyone safer, sped up the work, and got Colorado City’s lights back on faster than anyone expected.  

Oncor’s Field Services Partner Accelerates Storm Recovery in Colorado City using KYRO StormShield

September 1, 2025
3 min read

About the Client

Oncor is the largest electric utility in Texas, delivering reliable power to more than 10 million residents through a vast network of transmission and distribution infrastructure. In spring 2018, a severe storm struck Colorado City, TX, taking down over 20 miles of 345kV transmission lines across challenging, rural terrain.  

Faced with extensive damage and difficult site access, one of Oncor’s field services vendor partnered with KYRO and deployed StormShield to enable rapid, safe, and coordinated recovery operations.

Impact in Numbers

  • Less than 24 hours to complete full damage assessment and recovery planning.
  • 100% of high-risk areas identified and flagged before crews entered the field.
  • Zero safety incidents reported during inspection and planning phases.

The Challenge

The storm’s impact created a complex recovery scenario:

  • The storms left transmission infrastructure damaged over a broad geographic footprint. Crews needed to quickly assess, and rank restoration sites based on criticality, balancing customer impact with safety and accessibility constraints.
  • The affected lines stretched through sandy, uneven ground where conventional vehicles struggled to mobilize. Access routes were limited, forcing crews to plan carefully and often rely on specialized off-road equipment.
  • Large portions of the impacted area cut through private ranchland and single-path corridors. This constrained how teams and heavy equipment could be positioned, adding time to both mobilization and setup for each repair site.
  • Many damaged poles were leaning or partially uprooted, creating the risk of collapse during handling. Combined with the presence of energized lines in certain sections, crews had to proceed with extra caution and coordinate closely with system operators.

These conditions meant that traditional on-foot inspections and manual coordination would be too slow and too dangerous to meet urgent restoration timelines.

The Solution

KYRO’s StormShield became the central hub for aerial inspection, crew routing, and safety oversight, enabling Oncor’s vendor to complete a full impact assessment and recovery plan in just 24 hours.

1. Aerial Damage Assessment

KYRO was integrated for capturing data and geotagged images of damaged transmission spans during aerial inspections. These images were uploaded instantly into the platform, enabling field planners and engineers to review high-risk areas remotely and avoid unnecessary exposure.

2. Real-Time Data & Dynamic Dashboards

As aerial and ground data flowed into KYRO, a live dashboard with a consolidated visual, pinned location data, and status updates were made. This gave restoration teams immediate insights into damage severity, resource needs, and work prioritization, supporting confident, data-driven decisions.

3. Risk Zone Mapping for Crew Logistics

Using KYRO’s maps with color-coded risk zones, contractors identified the most affected areas first and deployed crews accordingly. This ensured equipment and teams reached priority sites quickly, minimizing travel delays in remote ranchlands and single-path ROW zones.

4. Safety-Centric Planning

Potential hazards, including energized lines, unstable poles, and roadway crossings, were flagged directly on the digital map. Crews accessed the latest safety intelligence before entering the field, ensuring a proactive, safety-first approach.

5. Digital Forms & Timesheet Tracking

Crews used KYRO’s mobile-friendly inspection and daily report forms to log completed tasks, material usage, and work hours on-site. This eliminated paper trails, provided real-time labor cost visibility, and ensured accurate reporting for both contractors and utilities.

6. Rapid, End-to-End Assessment

From the storm’s initial impact to a fully coordinated recovery plan, the complete damage evaluation process was finished within a single day, dramatically reducing downtime and accelerating restoration efforts.

By pairing aerial data with cutting-edge platform like KYRO’s StormShield, helped Oncor quickly figure out what was damaged, decide what to fix first, and plan the restoration safely. Crews knew exactly where to go and what to expect, avoiding risky guesswork.  

This smart approach kept everyone safer, sped up the work, and got Colorado City’s lights back on faster than anyone expected.