Tracking on-site substation weather data

Weather station upgrade

College Station Utilities (CSU) provides electric, water, and wastewater services to residents across eastern Texas. Last year, an aging weather station led them to search for an accurate, reliable replacement.

“These mechanical devices were getting older,” said SCADA Systems Analyst Robert Lawry, “and we started to lose some faith in the readings we were getting. That’s why we were looking to get an ‘all-in-one’ unit.”


Above: An Orion Weather Station mounted on a College Station Utilities substation control building.

Tracking on-site substation weather data for informed decisions

CSU selected the Orion Weather Station and mounted it on the roof of a substation control building.

“On-site weather data is important because we are now using this data in order to purchase power on the market,” Lawry explained. “This data is being used in historical calculations to help us do that. By combining this weather data with historical data, we can accurately predict our load for the coming year and purchase the amount of power necessary for our utility.”

In addition to long-term forecasting and power purchasing, Lawry told us that the data also supports aspects of outage management, giving the team better visibility into local conditions when it matters most.

When asked if he would recommend an on-site system to other power utilities, Lawry responded, “I would say that it would be a great decision. The ability to monitor weather on-site has given us the ability to operate more efficiently in various aspects of our business.”

He added, “Thanks for the opportunity to let you know how satisfied we are with your product.”

An all-in-one unit with no moving parts, the Orion Weather Station monitors the most common weather parameters in a single compact system.

For utilities like CSU, that combination of simplicity, durability, and dependable data makes a measurable difference.

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