# Outage verification referral brief template | SourceX

Canonical: https://refer.sourcex.si/resources/outage-work-order-verification-referral-brief-template
Last updated: 2026-10-20

A company introduction about outage work order verification is a one-page brief the operations director can forward: utility size and type, the restoration task, the record classes, the systems that hold them, years of closed events, a rough event count, the dated platform change if there is one, the record owners and the executive who can authorize a licensing discussion. Mark every field known or unknown, so the decision-maker sees at a glance what is confirmed and what still needs the administrator or counsel. Leave out customer names, addresses, account numbers, network diagrams and any export.

This template is part of the [outage work order verification guide](/guides/workflow-outage-work-order-verification). Fill it in after the operations director has agreed that you may describe the utility's restoration records in general terms.

## Why this brief has a status column

Outage records are spread across several systems, and the person you speak to rarely knows all of them. The operations director can usually describe events and crews; whether callbacks and meter checks are stored is the outage platform administrator's knowledge, and whether customer-linked fields can be licensed is counsel's. A status column lets you send an honest brief before every answer is in, instead of waiting or guessing.

Use three values only. **Known** means an owner told you. **Unknown** means nobody has confirmed it yet. **Not applicable** means the field does not fit this utility. Never upgrade a field from unknown to known on your own inference.

## The blank brief, with status column

Copy the table and fill the middle and right columns. Keep each note under twenty words.

| Field | Status | What to write in the note |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Known or unknown | Full-time employees at peak, contractors excluded; investor-owned, cooperative, municipal or contractor |
| Restoration task | Known or unknown | One line on how restorations are verified before events and work orders close |
| Record classes | Known or unknown | Names only: trouble calls, events, nested events, crew assignments, work orders, callbacks, meter events |
| Systems | Known or unknown | Category and start year per system; which are staying and which are being replaced |
| Years of closed events | Known or unknown | Earliest usable year in the outage platform; year work order links begin |
| Volume | Known or unknown | Rough closed events per year, with who estimated it |
| Verification stored | Known or unknown | Whether callbacks and meter checks are saved, or only acted on |
| Nested event links | Known or unknown | Whether partial restoration events keep their parent |
| Platform change | Known or unknown | A dated event confirmed by the utility, or "none scheduled" |
| Rights questions | Known or unknown | Customer-linked fields, network data, contractor or client contracts |
| Record owners | Known or unknown | The role that administers each system |
| Sponsor and decision-maker | Known or unknown | Convener; executive who can authorize; any board, council or parent approval |

No row asks for record content. If the utility later wants to show what its event history looks like, SourceX handles that under an agreement after rights review.

## Rows that need a second conversation

**Verification stored.** This is the row SourceX reads first, and the one most often unknown after the first meeting. Outage platforms can model partial restorations as related events; Oracle's Network Management System user guide, for example, documents related partial restoration events and completing an event. Whether a utility's control room actually saves the callback or meter check is a configuration and practice question for the administrator. The [system map](/guides/outage-work-order-verification-records-across-systems) lists the exact keys to ask about.

**Systems.** Name each system by the job it does rather than by product. IEC 61968-1, the interface standard for distribution management, lists outage management, work management, network model management and metering as separate functions, and many utilities run them as separate products. Writing "outage platform, work management, meter data" tells SourceX how many joins the history depends on.

**Volume.** A range from the operations director is enough, as long as it is attributed. Never count events yourself.

**Sponsor and decision-maker.** Ownership type changes who signs and who else must agree. The [decision tree for outage records](/questions/who-can-license-outage-work-order-verification-records) shows which governance step applies by ownership type.

## Completed brief: an investor-owned distribution company (Illustrative)

A fictional company, invented for this page; not a real utility, case or deal. A 380-person investor-owned electric distribution company serves a mix of suburban and rural territory and is replacing its outage platform within two years.

| Field | Status | Note (Illustrative) |
|---|---|---|
| Utility | Known | 380 full-time at peak, contractors excluded; investor-owned, electric distribution only |
| Restoration task | Known | Control room confirms restoration by callback before closing events and work orders |
| Record classes | Known | Trouble calls, events, nested events, crew assignments, work orders, callbacks |
| Systems | Known | Outage platform since 2016, being replaced; asset system since 2012, staying; call platform staying |
| Years of closed events | Known | About ten years of events; work order links for eight |
| Volume | Known | About 2,400 closed events a year, operations director's estimate |
| Verification stored | Unknown | Callbacks made on every major event; whether they are saved is for the administrator |
| Nested event links | Unknown | Platform supports them; consistent use not confirmed |
| Platform change | Known | Old platform read-only for 18 months after cutover, confirmed by the utility |
| Rights questions | Unknown | Customer-linked fields and network detail, for counsel and SourceX's rights review |
| Record owners | Known | Operations director for events; asset management lead for work orders |
| Sponsor and decision-maker | Known | Operations director convenes; president decides with general counsel |

Read it the way the president would. Nine rows are confirmed, three are open, and each open row names who can close it. Nothing identifies a customer, a circuit or an address.

## Sending it, and what it leaves to SourceX

Send the brief under a short covering note modeled on the [warm introduction brief](/resources/a-warm-introduction-brief-for-a-business-owner), or generate a first draft with the [client opportunity brief generator](/tools/client-opportunity-brief-generator). If the platform replacement sits inside a wider systems change, the handoff checklists for an [ERP replacement](/resources/a-data-opportunity-handoff-checklist-for-an-erp-replacement) and an [email platform migration](/resources/a-data-opportunity-handoff-checklist-for-an-email-platform-migration) cover adjacent records.

What stays unknown until SourceX reviews it: SourceX's current data needs for verified restoration histories, the rights result for customer-linked and network fields, the preparation required and whether any offer follows.

The utility needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, with one partner per company.

## Next step

> **Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000.** Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.

When the brief's known rows come from the owners and each unknown row names who will answer it, [register as a partner](/register), confirm the utility on [who qualifies](/who-qualifies) and read the [program terms](/terms) before you send it.

## Sources

- https://refer.sourcex.si/terms
- https://docs.oracle.com/en/industries/energy-water/network-management-system/2601/nms-users-guide/F84779.pdf
- https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/32542