From: ECT.coop
By Derrill Holly
Leaders of the nation’s electric cooperatives met with President Obama, as utility representatives urged the administration to make it easier for the industry to respond collectively to major disruptions or threats to grid reliability.
Obama met May 8 with about three dozen utility executives, including NRECA CEO Jo Ann Emerson and Mel Coleman, NRECA Board vice president, to discuss their concerns stemming from the massive restoration effort that followed Superstorm Sandy.
“This was a ‘lessons learned’ self-critique that examined both the good and bad of the industry’s performance,” Emerson said following the session at Department of Energy headquarters.
“We were particularly interested in defining the role of utility workers and their support personnel as ‘first responders,’ critical to public safety and restoring vital services,” she said.
For electric co-op crews, their contractors, and other utility personnel, that means developing logistics and support systems that ensure fuel will be available to help them reach affected areas and power their equipment once they arrive.
It also means adequate and safe lodging in or near areas where mutual aid crews are assigned to work.
“President Obama seemed very engaged in the discussion during the time that he was with us,” said Emerson, adding that he met with the group for about 30 minutes. “There seems to be some interest among industry leaders to take those measures which were effective and make them permanent, and find ways to strengthen those areas where deficiencies were evident.”
Superstorm Sandy caused power outages that affected more 10 million people from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Coast after it struck the East Coast in late October. More than 67,000 lineworkers and support personnel from throughout the United States and Canada spent more than two weeks rebuilding damaged electric infrastructure in affected areas.
“The administration was able to put waivers in place to allow crews to temporarily remove local, state and federal regulatory barriers that otherwise could have slowed this unprecedented level of cooperation,” said Emerson. “We discussed the need to keep a working group in place so that we can collectively respond even more quickly when similar needs arise in the future.”
Participants said more support from federal agencies might help address concerns about food, fuel and other critical supplies. They also suggested that similar cooperation between the industry and government might be applied to address emerging cyber security threats.
Utility executives wanted to know whether some of the problems might be solved by executive orders or changes in regulations, said Coleman, who is CEO of North Arkansas Electric Cooperative.
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Lineworkers from his Salem, Ark.-based co-op helped with power restoration in Long Island, N.Y., and were offered Spartan lodging on cold concrete floors, more than 50 miles away.
“We need to look at everything that can be better next time,” said Coleman. “While co-ops have always worked together effectively, we need to be able to build stronger ties with public power entities and investor-owned utilities”
When people are hurting, the needs are real and getting service restored helps people, said Coleman. “The president and other federal officials need to consider ways the industry can respond effectively to any type of disruption, whether they are local storms, tornadoes, or regional disasters.”
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