The Smart Grid.

IEEE has an article on how grid visualization and Google Earth were used to speed up restoration of power after hurricane Irene.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/software/grid-visualization-efforts-helped-heal-after-hurricane

Developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, VERDE (Visualizing Energy Resources Dynamically on Earth) allowed utilities, emergency managers, the Department of Energy and repair crews to have a bird's eye view of transmission line status over the Eastern seaboard.  This helped restore power in less than the previous average time for an event of this magnitude.  It started development after the 2003 East Coast blackout.