NYSEG Introduces Contingency Strategy for Hurricane Season

Adam Helman, director of emergency operations at Avangrid, discusses the evolving landscape of emergency response in New York State Electric & Gas (NYSEG) in an interview on the With Great Power podcast.

Helman, who previously worked at the New York City Emergency Management Agency, highlights the importance of mental health considerations for emergency responders in the new NYSEG emergency response plan. This focus on mental health is a relatively new emphasis in utility emergency planning.

The new plan, recently approved by the New York Public Service Commission, emphasizes the importance of "bench depth" or ensuring sufficient trained personnel can sustain operations during extended events. Traditional planning approaches aren't designed to handle such complex scenarios, but the new plan outlines a comprehensive strategy for managing outages and restoration efforts affecting hundreds of thousands of customers.

The plan includes a three-tier classification system for resource deployment based on the duration and severity of the event. NYSEG maintains at least 175 trained employees for damage assessment and can scale up to deploy between 100-350 line workers depending on the incident count and weather conditions.

Climate change is making high-stakes decisions in emergency response more complex due to changes in storm patterns. Helman cites examples of complex, overlapping weather events like severe winter storms and solar eclipses. To combat this, NYSEG is investing in predictive modeling to handle unpredictable weather events. Predictive modeling allows NYSEG to estimate potential impacts based on weather forecasts and historical data.

The hurricane season has begun across the Northeast, and NYSEG prioritizes proximity and availability when deciding which crews to deploy. The company is currently testing their emergency response plans to ensure they are prepared for any potential weather events.

Helman acknowledges the need for rest to maintain effectiveness in his role. He emphasizes that maintaining the mental and physical health of emergency responders is crucial for effective emergency response. The new plan reflects this willingness to address mental health, which reflects a broader evolution in sustainable emergency response.

The interview with Adam Helman can be found on the With Great Power podcast.