After Sandy: Utility Works to Improve Response

Following more than a day of hearing the patter of rain and the howl of the wind, the majority of Levittown and the surrounding area was without power. The temperature dropped, cell phone batteries died and the sound of sirens became more noticeable in the absence of electric-powered distractions.

It was the morning after the worst of Hurricane Sandy hit us. It was Tuesday, October 30, 2012.

Downed trees and limbs covered Edgely Road. PECO trucks and vehicles from utility companies across the nation streamed over the debris, past the sign for Levittown’s Red Cedar section like nothing had happened. The PECO crews were venturing to repair massive following what the utility calls the “most damaging storm in our 100+ year history.”

PECO was prepared. Officials say they were more prepared than other utility providers on the East Coast.

“We began planning for Sandy on Oct. 24, five days before the storm hit,” PECO spokesman Ben Armstrong said, adding that it was an all hands on deck” situation as the storm approached.

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PECO put a 200-point plan into place and assigned leads to each point. From developing a strategy based of weather forecast to securing contractors and crews from utility companies throughout the nation, PECO was prepared.

“The response and restoration effort was monumental. More than 4,700 employees, contractors, assistance (3,700 in the field)worked around-the-clock until every last customer was restored. Workers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky – as well as from BGE and ComEd supported the effort,” Armstrong said in an email to LevittownNow.com.

For about a week, power crews worked to restore electricity to Levittown. Armstrong said crews worked 12 to 16 hour shifts in order to restore power.

Damage to PECO’s equipment was immense: (% = increase compared to Irene)

• 2,875 Cross arms (37%)
• 16,522 Fuses (31%)
• 750 poles (141%)
• 390 Transformers (57%)

After the last PECO customer had power restored on the morning of November 7, the utility went to work to see how they could improve their response to events in the future.

“We performed a comprehensive review of Hurricane Sandy preparation and response. We identified successes from Hurricane Irene lessons learned that were implemented as part of our efforts to respond to Sandy,” Armstrong said.

According to PECO, here are some of the lessons learned:

• Assistance from other utilities played essential role in our success – we got help reserved early and that was integral to success.
• We used new technologies to help deploy crews more efficiently – saving 6,100 truck rolls or 2-3 days of restoration.
• Focused safety communications helped our employees and our customers get through without serious injury

PECO – which serves about 1.6 million customers in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia and York counties – also worked after the storm to improve the online outage map that so many find useful when their power goes out.

“We analyze every event to see what we can do better the next time. Sandy was no different,” Armstrong said.

Previous Stories in the After Sandy Series:

• Expert Warns We’re Still Unprepared for Sandy-Like Event
• After Sandy: ‘I Thought We’d Be Living Like This Forever’