Superstorm Sandy Overview. American Gas Association Disaster Planning Workshop

Transcription

1 Superstorm Sandy Overview American Gas Association Disaster Planning Workshop

2 2

3 Franchise Area 3

4 NJNG Franchise Stats Headquarters in Wall, NJ, service customers in five counties within the state Operate over 6,900 miles of distribution main and 220 miles of transmission main Serve approximately 500,000 customers NJNG employees over 780 employees 4

5 Mantoloking Bridge

6 Storm Facts Landfall near Atlantic City, NJ on October 29 th at about 8:00 pm Spanning approximately 1,000 miles, Superstorm Sandy was the largest Atlantic Ocean hurricane on record. Second-costliest storm in the nation s history Maximum Wind Gusts Surf City 89 mph Tuckerton 88 mph Sandy Hook 81 mph Sea Girt 79 mph Storm surge, measured 8.5 feet at Sandy Hook just before gauges were knocked out, estimated to be much higher (estimated at 15 feet) Created three breaches on Seaside peninsula 6

7 Company Firsts Over 31,000 customers were curtailed of gas service Utilized over 300 mutual aid personnel from 14 different utilities to assist in the restoration process Implementation of two command centers and utilization of incident commander Re-pressurized or replaced over 270 miles of main in less than a month and half Installed one mile of 12 steel main in 3 weeks under extreme field conditions 7

8 Initial Days Tuesday 10/30 Staffed NJNG personnel County OEMs Accessed damage to area and identified high risk areas Wednesday 10/31 Sea Bright area and 12 main in Mantoloking made safe NJNG contacted BPU for aid with fuel and police escorts First access to northern section of Seaside Peninsula was by boat Thursday November 1 Two staging areas being set up in LBI and Seaside Top priority: NJNG and mutual aid participating companies will canvas LBI and Mantoloking to Seaside to identify leaks and make safe Area deemed to unsafe to repair facilities, curtailment decision made 8

9 Challenges - Accessibility Accessibility to damaged areas Roads and bridges washed away Sand drifts seven feet high Debris and flooding blocking roadways Due to accessibility issues,njng did not have the full magnitude of the storm s impact immediately Employees could not get into work or back to their homes Landmarks gone Valve locations buried Pending leak increases Leak response by boat 9

10 Seaside 10

11 Leak Response Vehicle 11

12 Challenges Power Loss of electric power for an extended period impacted many processes Several cell towers lost power impacting communications NJNG reconfigured radio towers to run off generators Headquarters generators maxed out Lost power to fuel pumps Hundreds of employees had no power at their homes increasing stress levels 12

13 Ortley Beach 13

14 Challenges - Supplies Fuel became an issue two days after the storm NJNG had shored up diesel fuel delivery prior to the storm but unleaded was gone by Friday at the division fueling stations Open gas stations were communicated to all field personnel Food to feed all the employees was scarce several days after the storm Regulator, meter bar, and drive bracket inventory depleted quickly 14

15 Manasquan 15

16 Long Beach Island 16

17 Challenges - Expectations Residents expecting natural gas service within the week, Heating season was setting in Governors office demanding areas be made safe immediately Serving 450,000 customers that were not affected 17

18 Geographic Sectionalization Long Beach Island: barrier island with one entrance point, one way feed, storm surge and wind damage, 14,239 customers Seaside Peninsula: most heavily damaged area, two entrance point, one way feed, storm surge and wind damage, 15,982 customers Ocean Mainland: Barnegat Bay flooding and wind damage, 151,000 customers Bay Shore: area from Sandy Hook to Laurence Harbor, Raritan Bay flooding and wind damage, 20,000 customers Coastal Monmouth: area from Sandy Hook south to Manasquan, storm surge and wind damage, 58,000 customers 18

19 Affected Areas 19

20 Curtailment Re-pressurization Meter Connect # of Customers Start Complete Start Complete Coastal Monmouth (Manasquan) Bayshore (Sea Bright) /9 11/21 11/13 12/ /10 11/14 11/11 11/17 LBI 14,239 11/11 11/23 11/12 11/25 Seaside 15,982 12/3 12/20 12/5 12/15 6

21 Re-pressurization Map 21

22 Mantoloking Before After 22

23 Mantoloking 12 60lb main 23

24 Mantoloking 12 60lb main 24

25 Ortley Beach 25

26 Seaside 26

27 Long Beach Island 27

28 Tuckerton Beach 28

29 Union Beach 29

30 Asbury Park Stone Pony 30

31 Manasquan 31

32 What was learned??? 32

33 Pre-Event Planning Utilized Lessons Learned from Hurricane Irene First contact with NGA on the evening of10/25 to discuss potential mutual aid need Internal meeting began Friday 10/26, reviewed business unit emergency procedures Informed all employees to fuel trucks Contacted material vendors regarding meters and pipe Located and fueled portable generators at critical sites Pre-storm press release directing customers not to turn off gas, also utilized company web site and social media to send the message Lessons Learned Secure lodging for employees and potential utilization of mutual aid Secure as much material as possible 33

34 Post Mortem Performed a review of the storm events four months after the storm hit Utilized Quality department to coordinate, facilitate, and document discussion Discussed what went right and what could be improved Storm activities broke out into various sections Incident Command Communications Data Collection/Reporting Resources Mutual Aid Assessments/Restoration Safety Material Normal Operations 34

35 Incident Command NJNG Process Set up two incident command centers Daily updates from command centers to upper management Majority of technology already in place Lessons Learned Set up command centers before storm Appoint a logistics manager Utilize runners Identify all forms of communication 35

36 Communications NJNG Process Communication plan established immediately after the storm Communicated to all stakeholders early and often Employees Customers All government and regulatory officials Update website and social media on a daily basis Lessons Learned Communicate with the customers about the event regardless of the status Changes are made on the fly; make sure all employees understand this Contact municipalities regarding the message of telling residents to turn off their natural gas 36

37 Data Collection/Reporting NJNG Process Set up a central data collection center Utilized non-operations employees to input data Developed reports and forms on the fly Lessons Learned Terminology of what is being collected is imperative, be consistent in definition Multiple employees communicating the same number created confusion, have one point person in charge of collecting and communicating information Data input in the field speeds data reporting, runners collecting paper field data 37

38 Resources/Mutual Aid NJNG Process Meter Readers are invaluable resource in the assessment process, route knowledge Utilized NGA to help identify mutual aid assistance Never could have completed the assessment and restoration of all affected areas with out the help of mutual aid Contacted Entergy to gain their expertise and knowledge regarding re-pressurization Lessons Learned Review employee/contractor skill sets so that they can be quickly and appropriately applied to the right situation Have a plan in place for mutual aid employees before they arrive Have a point person for mutual aid coordination 38

39 Mutual Aid 39

40 Assessments/Restoration NJNG Process Customer gas valve expedited process of getting gas to the meter Broke out skill set of mutual aid employees and contractors to optimize process Developed detailed plans for both re-pressurization process and the facility assessment process Had one person in charge of setting up plans for assessment/restoration and another for re-pressurization Mobilized garage personnel to the field As better information regarding field conditions came in the decision to repair versus curtail became clearer Utilized helicopter to access damage on a large scale basis 40

41 Assessments/Restoration Lessons Learned Start in a small sectionalized manner to refine process Identify meter sizes Have local storeroom capabilities; have on-site storekeeper Good government relations and communications helps expedite the restoration process Utilize mobile command center as soon as possible; have plenty of coffee 41

42 Safety NJNG Process Safety briefings each morning were paramount Constantly reminded employees to wear personnel protective equipment Paired up employees Waited for debris to be cleared Lessons Learned Proceed with caution, safety first ALWAYS Secure lighting before the storm hits Coordinate with other utilities during re-pressurization; electric company reenergizing impacted/delayed our process Have a safety pamphlet/book available for mutual aid personnel Be aware of fatigue, employees will push themselves 42

43 Material NJNG Process Started contacting vendors prior to the storm Utilized mutual assistance for material Meter bar vendor had stocked up for Hurricane Season Repairing barrier island one section at a time limited strain on material needs Onsite trailers to store material was extremely beneficial Utilized manual pumps for fuel stations Lessons Learned Ability to modify material standards earlier would have helped In a large event such as this realize other utilities will be ordering the same material Have someone on-site for material issues 43

44 Normal Operations NJNG Process Dedicated supervisors to concentrate on the area of your franchise not affected Lessons Learned Dedicate a certain number of employees for normal operations and do not pull them away Prioritize normal operations workload 44

45 Key Success Factors Employee dedication and corporate adaptability Government and regulatory relations and support Solid communications plan Vendor and mutual aid relations Developing detailed plan for each major process End of day communications with key players 45

46 Post Event Planning Three fold increase in requests for service demolitions Increased emergency calls Increased third party damages Increased turn offs FEMA changes to flood lines will impact municipal code requirements Anticipating increase in new service request this spring and summer 46

47 Action Items Revise and formalize the Incident Command/Incident Command Center process Update Business Continuity Plans Update Crisis Management Plan Identify criteria for future queries/reports Review Field Data Requirements (Data Reporting, Mass Order) Potential installation of EFVs on all homes on the barrier islands Investigating vents on regulators to stop water intrusion during floods Possibly adding additional feeds on to barrier islands 47

48 Questions?