Question about associations and subnet lines.

[Joshua_Moreno]

Hello, I have a few questions. Received data from a contractor that I had to apply to an asset package and then create a Utility Network from that asset package. The linework that was provided only included conduits and not the actual circuits so I am now digitizing the circuits from the substation to visually show the connectivity from each circuit line starting at the source subnet controller. These circuits, in many places, share vaults and manholes which are set up to be structure junctions. I'd like the circuits to be connected to the vaults/manholes through association but not geometrically as there is inaccuracy in the cad drawing. How can this be done?

Furthermore, as I begin the digitizing of the circuits, these will be my subnet lines from each source/subnet controller at the substation. Would I digitize these as subnet lines or electrical lines? Or what would be the best workflow to ensure the digitized circuits show as both? Our goal is to simply run traces up or down stream in the network for when there are outages/planned construction or just to simply have a better understanding of the connected network as a whole.

New to utilities in general so this is a great learning curve to me. Have played around with the sample Naperville data but I'm in charge of setting the UN up for our electrical public utilities. 

TYIA!

[VenkataKondepati]

Hi @Joshua_Moreno,

For associating circuits to vaults/manholes:
You don’t need to connect them geometrically. Use the Modify Associations tool in ArcGIS Pro to create connectivity associations between your Electric Line features (circuits) and structure junctions (vaults/manholes). This avoids geometry-based snapping, which is ideal when working with CAD data that isn’t perfectly aligned.

These associations will be respected during tracing and won’t require the lines to physically touch the vaults.

For digitizing circuits:
Use the Electric Line feature class — for example, Medium Voltage Conductor. You don’t need a separate subnetwork line geometry. Instead:

Assign the correct asset group/type to each circuit.

Set your subnet controller at the substation (on the appropriate device).

When you run Update Subnetwork, the system uses your digitized lines as part of the logical trace.

Once this is in place, you’ll be able to run upstream/downstream traces and visualize connectivity, even if the CAD geometry isn’t perfect.

I hope this helps and let me know.

Regards,

Venkat

[Joshua_Moreno]

Hi Venkata, 

Thank you for this information and I will give it a try! 

Another question, kind of related to the reply I left Robert down below. With the provided linework from the contractor, there are only two conduits, A & B, each with a few circuits A1A2, B1B2, etc.. from your experience, the electrical engineers would like to be able to trace by circuit and not conduit but visually on the map show that these are contained within a conduit until a trace is made. Is this possible, if so how would it be done?

We'd like to trace circuit A1 and see the connectivity all the way to and from the switch gear A - circuit breaker A1 at the substation. The switch gear is an assembly so would I digitize circuit breakers and associate them to the assembly as part of a container? 

Thank you once more!

[RobertKrisher]

Once you turn the circuit breakers into subnetwork controllers and run Update Subnetwork, the utility network will automatically create a subnetwork line for you based on the features that belong to that subnetwork (circuit) and the configuration of that tier of your network (it should only include medium voltage lines).

Typically, the circuits are contained in conduit, and each conduit is connected to the vault, so the circuits aren't explicitly contained within the vault. It is possible to allow a vault to contain a circuit (or conduit) dusing an association, but most models don't include rules that allow for this by default. You can verify this by looking at the Rules in the Network Properties of your utility network. If there is a rule, you can use the Modify Associations pane to select a vault or manhole) then add the circuits as content of the vaults.

[Joshua_Moreno]

Hi Robert, I had the pleasure of meeting with you at the ESRI UC expo hall this year! Thank you for this response and clarification on my question. 

Okay, I'm beginning to understand now. One more question, so from the contractor's linework, they provided conduit A and conduit B. The circuits are named according A1 A2, B1 B2, etc... What would be the best process to convert this information into the UN? Would having to digitize the circuits themselves be ideal for the UN or is there a way to associate the containment of circuits in each conduit using attribute rules and non-spatial data for running traces back to the controller? 

[RobertKrisher · Accepted solution]

Ah yes, this is why I'm glad I started taking photos of people's faces with notes 🙂 Its typically best to digitize the circuits since it makes easier to also capture the equipment installed on each conductor. Think about how you would represent the different elbows on circuits in a junction cabinet or the different bays of a switchgear if you didn't draw the conductors. In this case you would have two cables in each conduit, offset them slightly from each other (and the conduit) then when they get to any elbows, switches, etc you would connect each cable to the corresponding device.

[Joshua_Moreno]

Awesome, I think this has set me off in the right direction for setting this up. Thank you and greatly appreciate the help in better understanding such a complex system. Will reach back out if any other questions arise if that is okay. 

Best,

Joshua