Public Service Company of New Mexico Builds a Reliable Network with AutoCAD

PNM is the largest investor-owned electric utility in New Mexico and serves 498,700 customers across the state. PNM has been supplying power to the Southwest since 1917 and currently serves over 3,635 square miles, and maintains 14,950 circuit miles of electric distribution lines, 21,000 circuit miles of transmission lines. Because of the vast size and consistent growth of PNM's network, engineers are consistently adding new, and upgrading existing infrastructure.

"The type of engineering we do is very complicated and specific. To do that work efficiently and accurately, we need a design tool that enables us to work in 3D, while also being flexible and customizable," said Gathen Garcia, technical systems manager, PNM. "We have used AutoCAD since 1982, and we have created several applications on top of it that enable us to work smarter and faster, while letting our engineers focus on the design process."

PNM has developed an application specific to the electric utilities industry, 3D-DASL. This purpose-built application builds on existing AutoCAD 3D capabilities and adds customized standards for substations and switch stations so that PNM engineers can focus more on the design process, and less on mundane details. With 3D-DASL, engineers can update legacy drawings using the 3D capabilities of AutoCAD to give construction crews a clearer picture of the new design in relation to the existing structure. Since engineers are adding to an existing design, there is no need to re-create the project in 3D, improving efficiencies -- time and money -- for PNM and construction crews.

"A growing number of AutoCAD users are taking advantage of the software's new 3D design capabilities to improve their design processes," said Guri Stark, Autodesk vice president, AutoCAD and Platform Products. "Public Service Co of New Mexico is a great example of how AutoCAD's versatile 3D design capabilities can help increase design productivity, contribute to major time savings and lead to an efficient stakeholder engagement process."

In all PNM projects, stakeholder engagement and education are crucial. In creating photorealistic visualizations based on the 3D AutoCAD designs, PNM is able to clearly explain proposals, gain public support and educate government officials, which speeds up the permitting process.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies -- as well as the last 14 Academy Award(R) winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

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SOURCE: Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk, Inc. 
Noah Cole, 503-707-3872 
noah.cole@autodesk.com