Proposal:Utility service area

Utility service area
Proposal status:	Draft (under way)
Proposed by:	CZCToadette
Tagging:	boundary=utility Data item
Applies to:
Definition:	Add boundaries for public utility service areas
Statistics:
Rendered as:	Like the existing boundary=administrative, except cerulean or light blue in color (yellow in the editor), and peppered with "high voltage" lightning bolt icons of the same color
Draft started:	2026-10-03

Problem Statement

There is currently no clear system on OpenStreetMap for utility service area boundaries, forcing electricity consumers to search somewhere other than OpenStreetMap for the utility company they need to sign up for to supply power to their home or business. This can be especially bad for any consumer in the world who loses electricity and don't know enough about the local companies to reasonably search for them on their mobile devices.

Proposal

• Add boundary=utility and give it nearly all of the same features as boundary=administrative

Rationale

Adding utility service areas will eliminate the need to search elsewhere for the utility service area the customer falls under, saving time and resources.

Tagging

• operator=*: The operator that controls power within the given boundary. Up to two operators can be added, which goes into a relation labeled "[Operator 1]–[Operator 2] (shared service area)", completely separate from the main relation.

Why operator?

operator=* is already used by power=substation to signify which utility company is in charge of said substation.

Examples

• Rough interactive example of what the proposed change is supposed to entail

• 
  These power lines run through Clay County, Texas, United States and are leased to Oncor Electric Delivery, but no one would automatically know that by looking at OpenStreetMap.

Features/Pages affected

• New page: boundary=utility

Comments

Please comment on the discussion page.