| Resource Type | Tool fact sheet |
| Author / Source | Idaho National Laboratory (INL) |
| Publication Date | 2025 (tool introduced January 2023) |
| Location | United States |
| Initiative Type | Technology, Program |
| Project Complexity | Advanced |
| Recommended For | Board, Staff |
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Why This Matters for Rural Electric Co-ops
Major storms are a costly reliability threat many co-ops face, and how fast power comes back determines the human and economic toll. Storm-DEPART, developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), predicts where a hurricane or ice storm will do the most damage and what crews and materials will be needed, so a utility can pre-stage resources and prioritize community lifelines such as healthcare, drinking water, and emergency services. It directly targets two expensive failure modes: slow restoration and the over-deployment of mutual-aid crews.
Storm-DEPART is one component of INL's Resilience Guard, a suite that also bundles the ACCLIMATE climate-risk tool and a basic asset inventory. Co-ops are eligible to request it at no cost through CSDET's technical assistance pathway.
Key Takeaways
| › | Storm-DEPART models damage separately across distribution, transmission, and generation, then estimates the crews, materials, and days a restoration will take. |
| › | Beyond live events, it can run hypothetical storm scenarios, giving co-ops a planning tool for resilience investments and incident-response drills. |
| › | Prediction quality depends on how complete a co-op's asset and response data is. |
Implementation Considerations
- Regulatory or Governance Considerations: A co-op requests the tool through CSDET's technical assistance pathway, a request-and-approval process that connects it with CSDET experts rather than a commercial vendor.
- Staffing or Technology Requirements: Resilience Guard bundles a basic asset inventory, so a co-op with thin records still has a place to start. Early users have been large utilities, so a smaller co-op should gauge how the tool and its data needs scale down.
- Time-Sensitive Information: The 2025 fact sheet lists Storm-DEPART under DOE's Grid Deployment Office, but it is now delivered under the Office of Electricity's Damage Prediction and Resilience project as federal program homes have shifted. Confirm current availability with INL before relying on it.
Notable Examples
- Idaho National Laboratory (INL): Developed Storm-DEPART and delivers it within its Resilience Guard suite.
- Entergy: Louisiana-based utility serving three million customers that co-developed the tool and used it for Hurricanes Beryl and Francine and several winter ice events.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity: Delivers Storm-DEPART to utilities through its Damage Prediction and Resilience project.
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Related to
Comments
0 comments
Please sign in to leave a comment.