Managing Jumper Connectors GIS Cleanup with Python and AI
Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
Intended Audience: GIS User, GIS Developer, Management
Abstract
The City of Naperville Electric Utility is migrating from ArcMap / ArcFM to the Esri Utility Network. A pre-migration requirement was cleaning up features before they become problems in the new data model. One of the most significant was around 9,000 Jumper connectors connecting underground cables to transformer banks — a fix that would have taken approximately two full-time employees 12 weeks manually. Instead, the GIS team completed it in a fraction of that time through structured analysis, Python automation, and AI-assisted development using Claude (Anthropic). The presentation tells the full project story. It began with proof-of-concept testing on a File Geodatabase copy of the production network, where a script ran cleanly in about one hour. Moving to a versioned SDE environment with more than 250 active project versions introduced a completely different class of problems: workspace transaction mode conflicts, an incompatibility between the two ArcPy editing APIs that prevented deletion and snapping in the same edit session, zero-length geometry errors from incorrect operation ordering, and a performance collapse from 1 hour to 240 hours across 15 substation runs. Resolving these required a two-phase edit session redesign and AI-assisted performance tuning that brought total runtime down to 29 hours. The result: fewer than 100 version conflicts in three reconcile passes and a clean feeder report across all 16 substations. Attendees will learn practical lessons about geometric network editing in versioned SDE environments, the real role AI played as a development collaborator, and how to approach large-scale data quality projects with confidence.
Presenters
Aleksandar Stojanov
GIS Coordinator, City of Naperville - DPU-E
I am a GIS Coordinator in the Electric Utility at the City of Naperville, where I am responsible for the design, development, and maintenance of the department’s GIS system built on ArcMap / ArcFM. With 23 years of experience in GIS and utility data management, my work spans spatial data analysis, data quality management, and system integration.I hold a degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA, and am an Esri Desktop Associate certified. My background in electrical engineering provides a strong foundation for understanding utility network topology and data modeling, which has been central to my work on the department’s ongoing migration from the ArcFM Geometric Network to the Esri Utility Network on ArcGIS Pro.Most recently, I led the technical development of an AI-assisted Python automation project to identify and clean up over 9,000 misused Jumper connectors across 16 substations in a versioned enterprise SDE environment — the subject of this presentation.
James Kivela
Utility Integration Manager, City of Naperville - DPU-E
I am a manager in the Electric Utility at the City of Naperville, where I am responsible for technical and managerial aspects of the department’s GIS system (ArcFM/ESRI). Also responsible for system integration and development, and data flow and administration of Microsoft BizTalk, which is used in the electric and water utilities for integration of Smart Grid related systems.I led the implementation projects for ArcGIS/ArcFM, Designer, Conduit Manager, Fiber Manager, Synergi Electric, and BizTalk Smart Grid integration. BizTalk responsibilities include 24/7/365 data flow, administration, and development for both Utilities. Among other things, this data enables daily customer billing, ensuring the on-going cashflow for the Utilities.