Restoration of distribution systems is a complicated process, especially af
ter storms, when a large number of outages can occur, Many utilities are im
plementing Automated Meter Reading (AMR) systems that can aid in the restor
ation process. This paper presents work done to utilize the capabilities an
d information provided by a wireless AMR system, including the on-demand re
ad feature, to develop a polling procedure to identify system conditions. I
t takes advantage of the connection information provided by a utility and t
he performance of the wireless meter communication systems.