Chapter 5: Emergency Management/Storm Response

Question 1

What often causes the loss of electric power over large areas?

Answer 1

catastrophic weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, and flooding; these events also can and do cause the collapse of trees onto electric conductors, poles, and other infrastructure, which causes major power outages

Question 2

What is the goal of utilities during these catastrophic weather events?

Answer 2

restore power to customers as quickly as possible with appropriate regard for the health and safety of the personnel involved and the general public; primary goal is to clear fallen and broken trees from the lines as quickly as possible

Question 3

What role do utility arborists play in storm response?

Answer 3

utility tree crews are often confronted with a tangled mess of conductors, trees, and other vegetation, all of which must be removed before the utility line personnel and engineers can repair the infrastructure; deal with fallen, broken, and leaning trees in the vicinity of downed conductors, poles, and transformers; inherently dangerous

Question 4

What is the first task when a utility line-clearance crew encounters a storm site situation?

Answer 4

assess the situation, determine the risks and danger involved, and plan the cutting operations in a way that minimizes the risks to their own health and safety and that of other personnel and the public in the immediate vicinity

Question 5

Who are other emergency services personnel?

Answer 5

fire department, emergency medical response teams, the police, construction crews

Question 6

Why is establishing a chain of command important?

Answer 6

clear lines of communication are essential for responding emergency personnel to avoid conflicting or counterproductive activities and to ensure timely restoration of power

Question 7

American National Standards Institute

Answer 7

ANSI; private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates U.S. voluntary consensus standards for a broad range of businesses

Question 8

ANSI Z133

Answer 8

safety requirements standard for pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining, and removing trees and cutting brush; committee produced since 1972

Question 9

ANSI Z133.1-2000

Answer 9

standard reference for those engaged in tree care work; adopted by Telecommunications Safety and Health Standard and Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Question 10

on call

Answer 10

line-clearance crews that are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be called to an emergency at relatively short notice; usually requirement part of the contract between utility and line-clearance company

Question 11

24-7

Answer 11

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Question 12

emergency response status

Answer 12

placement of all line and tree crews in status as preparation for inevitable damage by catastrophic weather event

Question 13

sudden events

Answer 13

storms that occur without warning or develop faster than the Weather Service predicted

Question 14

stand down

Answer 14

refers to the time when the crews are released from on-call or 24-7 status to return to normal working hours

Question 15

standby v. stand down

Answer 15

standby = on call, ready in case an emergency develops; stand down = normal working hours; mobilization will often involve more work from stand down than a standby situation

Question 16

person in charge

Answer 16

a person designated as the leader or controller of an emergency situation or operation; has total control and responsibility to dispatch the crews to the appropriate locations and to direct the emergency response operation; all communication must past through this individual; may change through the emergency

Question 17

dispatcher

Answer 17

a person at the utility or line-clearance company who is in control of sending the line-clearance crews to work locations; maintains communication with all crews, with the utility, and with any other emergency services that may be attending

Question 18

What is the first priority when planning storm restoration?

Answer 18

the line-clearance crew’s priority is to facilitate the construction crew’s restoration efforts; communication and coordination between the two groups are critical to an efficient restoration effort

Question 19

risk assessment plan

Answer 19

a document that should contain a description of the dangerous situations and occurrences likely to be encountered at the storm sites, an assessment of the risks associated with those situations, and a description of how they should be addressed to minimize the risk to the health and safety of the line-clearance personnel and the public

Question 20

site specific

Answer 20

refers to issues, situations, risks, dangers, and other factors that are unique to a particular work site or emergency situation; generic risk assessment plans can be refined to assess the specific risks to health and safety presented by the situation on site

Question 21

When should the cutting work begin at a storm response location?

Answer 21

after the risks have been assessed and the safest approach decided and adopted

Question 22

back feed

Answer 22

a process whereby electricity is fed back into downed lines, usually from a home generator that can re-energize the lines; the voltages can be raised if it passes through a transformer

Question 23

grounded

Answer 23

properly providing a path for the flow of electricity to prevent accidental energizing of a power line

Question 24

secondary lines

Answer 24

circuits that carry lower voltages from distribution transformers to the point of use

Question 25

primary lines

Answer 25

distribution lines that carry voltage ranging from 2,400 to 34,500 volts

Question 26

What sort of things should be communicated as clearance work progresses?

Answer 26

• work that has been completed/progress
• locations of all downed conductors and damaged equipment found (never assume the utility is aware of all downed conductor locations)
• if the conductors are energized
• if there is a risk of back feed from sources
• if the de-energized conductors have been grounded
• if there is likelihood of secondary lines carrying higher-than-normal voltages because of downed primary lines

Question 27

risk assessment

Answer 27

a process of assessing the risks posed by a job task(s) such that the identified risks can be reduced or eliminated, making the job safer for personnel; process of determining the level of risk posed by a tree or group of trees on a property; involves analyzing each situation or work task to identify whether or not undertaking it poses any risk to the health or safety of the person undertaking the task, their colleagues, other personnel, emergency response personnel, or the general public; establishing the likelihood of the potential risk event occurring and the severity of the outcome should that event occur

Question 28

Who should be considered in risk assessment?

Answer 28

the person undertaking the task, their colleagues, other personnel, emergency response personnel, or the general public

Question 29

What are the types of level of risk?

Answer 29

acceptable or unacceptable

Question 30

What must be done for all tasks designated with unacceptable level of risk?

Answer 30

a policy or procedure must be in place to minimize or, if possible, eliminate the risk

Question 31

personal protective equipment

Answer 31

PPE; personal safety gear such as hard hat, safety glasses, and hearing protection

Question 32

How to reduce unacceptable risks?

Answer 32

conduct a generic risk assessment for all major work tasks personnel perform as part of their routine work

Question 33

What is one of the highest risks in storm response?

Answer 33

fatigue; personnel are working long hours to assist the utility to restore power; fatigue can lead to lapse in concentration, which can result in injury or death

Question 34

How to prevent fatigue?

Answer 34

frequent breaks are essential as is constant communication with colleagues on site; large or prolonged storms may require establishing shift schedules to provide for sleep and avoid the dangers associated with fatigue

Question 35

tagging and grounding process for line sections taken out of service

Answer 35

• a qualified utility person in the field signs the clearance tag
• the line-clearance crew can proceed only when the tag is in place
• the tag cannot be removed until the utility person in charge has checked firsthand that the line-clearance crew is away from the line
• tag can be removed and the line re-energized

Question 36

Cautions to take during storm response work

Answer 36

• watch out for downed conductors
• listen for the sound of portable generators that can cause back feed
• beware of fences with wire or highway metal barriers that may be energized by contact with downed conductors elsewhere on the circuit (assume all such structures are energized)
• beware of working close to secondary lines that can be energized and carrying higher voltages through contact with primary lines (assume all lines are energized)

Question 37

5 x 5 matrix

Answer 37

a method to determine the severity and likelihood of a risk; each hazard is given a rating based on its likelihood of occurrence (1-very unlikely, 2-unlikely, 3-likely, 4-very likely, 5-certain) and its potential severity (1-no time lost to injury, 2-up to 3 days lost-time to injury, 3-minor injury/illness 3day+, 4-major injury/illness, 5-fatality); the two figures are multiplied together to give a risk rating number; 10 to 25 = “high” to “unacceptable” risks

Question 38

What is the key to a successful operation?

Answer 38

communication among all parties involved in the clearance and restoration of power is the key to a successful operation

Question 39

Who primarily performs the vital communication function?

Answer 39

the dispatcher; also the crew leader(s) on site; the contact person who is the link among the utility and the municipal representatives

Question 40

What are the methods of communication during storm response work?

Answer 40

• two-way radio
• radio frequencies
• cellular phones

Question 41

two-way radio

Answer 41

a device used to facilitate communication between two parties such as crews and crew leaders, crew leader and dispatcher, or dispatcher and utility person in charge

Question 42

Pros and Cons of radio communication

Answer 42

Pros: can be the most effective way to provide minute-to-minute communication
Cons: only effective over a relatively short range unless a mobile transmission base station can be set up on site

Question 43

Pros and Cons of cell phones

Answer 43

Pros: ideal means for supervisors and crew leaders to contact essential people over larger areas; can reduce traffic over the radio frequencies, particularly when relaying the location of downed lines and hardware to the utility or dispatcher; more secure form of communication; capability of transmitting and receiving text communications which is advantageous when the noise of machinery and natural elements make voice communication difficult on site; speed dialing with quick access of relevant contact numbers on site
Cons: can have bad/unreliable signal

Question 44

Why is customer contact essential during storm response work?

Answer 44

• to keep the owners informed as to what is being done and why (many of the downed trees are owned by private individuals)
• to minimize the risk of complaints when the power is restored and life gets back to normal (reasonable effort must be made to contact tree owners before work begins)

Question 45

Where to redirect customer calls and questions?

Answer 45

refer to the utility or to the municipal official who is in contact with the utility for further information; calls should be routed to the utility customer services personnel

Question 46

How much cleanup is expected after emergency or storm response work?

Answer 46

a lot of debris in the form of felled trees, branches, and brush in and around the storm sites will be left; work sites should be made safe when the line-clearance crews are finished, with logs and branches stacked in stable positions on the ground; leave roads and driveways safe and clear; always leave storm sites in a safe state

Question 47

Who is responsible for the disposal of storm-damaged trees?

Answer 47

property owners and municipalities; crews should be informed of utility-specific disposal policies and be able to communicate those policies to customers (door cards can be used for this purpose)

Question 48

What are some benefits of storm or emergency situations?

Answer 48

• opportunity to interface with customers, landowners, and the public in positive ways
• provides valuable lessons to customers on the damage trees can cause to the electrical system and the level of disruption that trees can cause when storms and emergencies occur
• raise public awareness of the importance of its scheduled line-clearance program
• emphasize the need to prune and remove trees close to the conductors to minimize the impact of future storms
• time without power due to trees that have damaged the system can be an important education for customers

Question 49

What helps the utility educate its customers about the value of proper line-clearance programs?

Answer 49

application of proper pruning techniques and sound reasoning to justify the removal of hazard trees while attending to customers’ needs