Pepco Drill Tests Emergency Preparedness across Entire Region
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
First Ever Exercise Involves District of Columbia, Montgomery & Prince George’s Counties in a Pre-Winter Drill to Focus on Utility’s Performance and Procedures
WASHINGTON – Pepco conducted a major pre-winter drill today to test the company’s emergency readiness, communication and coordination with designated Emergency Management Agency (EMA) representatives from the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland.
Members of PHI’s Emergency Management Team (EMT) led this exercise that included for the first time all three jurisdictions within the Pepco Region.
“This exercise was designed to help ensure the processes work well between our team and EMA personnel,” said Caryn Bacon, Director, Emergency Preparedness for PHI. “Our goal was to enhance this coordinated response to ensure all personnel were trained and ready to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible during power outages caused by major storms this winter season.”
This drill tested the planning and implementation stages currently in place to respond to severe weather-related outages.
“Restoring power after a major storm is one of the most important things we do,” said Thomas Graham, President, Pepco Region. “By participating with our emergency management partners in various storm scenarios, we strengthen our collaborative processes to help ensure we are doing all we can to quickly restore power when it’s out.”
This drill was a continuation of the storm drill that took place in June and demonstrates Pepco’s overall commitment to enhancing emergency preparedness.
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Pepco Prepares for Storms with Major Drill
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
500 Workers Perform Restoration Procedures; Government Officials and Reporters Observe
WASHINGTON – Pepco is conducting a major drill today to test the company’s readiness for a significant storm event. This is an annual exercise hosted by Pepco to ensure its employees are trained and prepared to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible during power outages caused by major storms. The exercise involves approximately 500 workers from across the Pepco Holdings, Inc. service area.
This functional exercise is intended to p rovide realistic scenarios for workers to practice implementation of the plans that are in place to respond to severe weather-related outages and other significant outage incidents; d emonstrate and rehearse changes that improve the restoration process; and ensure customer communications are enhanced.
“This exercise will demonstrate our storm restoration processes as well as how the Reliability Enhancement Plan is improving our infrastructure and ability to provide service during major weather events,” said Thomas Graham, President, Pepco Region.
For this year’s drill, Pepco has invited government officials and the media to the exercise for the first time. Legislators, regulators and journalists will have the opportunity to observe a simulated restoration process in Pepco’s Control Center and will witness the company’s restoration preparedness and response.
“Providing this rare look inside our Operations complex demonstrates our desire for transparency, and we hope it will provide context for Pepco’s response protocols and procedures,” Mr. Graham said. “Members of our executive and management team will be available to discuss how we handle major storm events and answer questions about our restoration process.”
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Pepco, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: POM), delivers safe, reliable and affordable electric service to more than 778,000 customers in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
