Posted by Dennis Herrick on May 13, 2009 at 12:29:32:
Unitil: We were not prepared
Sentinel & Enterprise
Posted: 05/13/2009 06:37:40 AM EDT
By Matt Murphy
Statehouse Bureau
BOSTON -- Unitil Corp. executives testified yesterday that prior to the December ice storm, the company had not prepared for a worst-case scenario in which its electrical systems in all three territories in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were impacted.
Officials also told the Department of Public Utilities that it had never performed so-called "tabletop exercises" or real-time drills to test the company's ability to respond to an emergency power outage -- even though almost every other major utility company in the state goes through such exercises. Company executives sat for a second day in the state's hearing into Unitil's response to the December ice storm that left residents in North Central Massachusetts without power for up to two weeks. Questioning came from the attorney general's office and officials from the Department of Public Utilities.
Unitil officials repeatedly stressed that the December storm presented unprecedented challenges.
"The scope and scale of this event was beyond anything at the corporate and local level we had ever experienced before," said George Gantz, a senior vice president for Hampton, N.H.-based Unitil.
Raymond Letourneau, director of electric operations, said Unitil was unaware that most other utility companies routinely perform tabletop exercises to test their emergency response plans, and that Unitil never discussed holding similar drills.
Letourneau also said that
unlike companies such as National Grid, which have prepared for catastrophic emergencies, Unitil's emergency plan was based only on the worst storm it had seen, a 1996 winter storm that was handled by 35 crews.
"Until you see something like this, you cannot plan for it," Letourneau said.
At the peak of the December ice storm, as many as 300 crews were working in Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend and Ashby to restore power.
The ice storm marked the first time Unitil had ever sought mutual aid to respond to a storm, officials said. In addition to its own 30 crews, company officials initially asked for 30 to 40 more crews through regional mutual-aid agreements.
Richard Francazio, brought in from National Grid where he was director of emergency planning, testified that National Grid performed tabletop exercises twice a year to prepare for widespread emergencies, even scenarios that go well beyond any emergency experienced by the company.
The drills have tested National Grid's ability to handle everything from a Category 5 hurricane to a terrorist attack targeting transmission lines, substations and liquid natural gas facilities, Francazio said.
Asked by the DPU why Unitil did not feel it was necessary to train annually for emergency storms, Chief Operating Officer Thomas Meissner said he was confident in Unitil's preparedness until December.
Hearings continue today when municipal officials from Fitchburg and Lunenburg are scheduled to testify.