Submitted by Mitch Gross
BERLIN, Conn. (September 16, 2021) – With National Preparedness Month and hurricane season both in full swing, Eversource remains actively engaged in implementing and refining emergency response plans and processes as part of its every day, essential mission to provide safe, reliable service to all customers. Following a stormy August, including the significant restoration effort that Eversource mobilized in response to Hurricane Henri, the energy company began September by providing mutual assistance to the massive restoration effort in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida while also responding to the storm’s impacts in New England. Today, Eversource is also encouraging customers to make emergency preparedness a year-round focus in their homes.
“Every day is an appropriate day to focus on emergency preparedness, particularly as climate change drives more severe storms to our already unforgiving New England weather,” said Eversource Director of Emergency Preparedness Richard Tobin. “Our customers face that reality far too frequently, including just recently from Hurricane Henri and other storms that have caused significant damage across the region this summer. From our line workers, troubleshooters and community relations specialists to our remote system operators, vegetation management experts, fleet and safety personnel and employees in traditional office settings, we all have a critical role to play in ensuring emergency preparedness – including our customers, who can also take steps to prepare at home.”
Eversource is focused every day on ensuring that it is prepared to respond to severe weather like hurricanes. The energy company is constantly working to modernize and strengthen the electric system to help ensure safe and reliable service for customers while also regularly refining emergency response plans and processes. As part of
those year-round efforts, Eversource also continues to make strategic investments in innovative technology like “smart switches” that enable system operators to isolate outages and works with local communities to implement its strategic vegetation management program to protect the system from dead, dying or hazardous trees – the number one cause of power outages. In addition, every Eversource employee – including all corporate office workers – serve in a designated storm role during emergency response that include important responsibilities such as supporting the logistics to lodge, feed and care for the sometimes thousands of additional utility workers that are brought to the region or guarding downed wires until qualified line resources can arrive.
As a longstanding member of the utility industry’s mutual aid network that works together to restore power following devastating storms and major events, Eversource sent approximately 40 of its crews and more than 100 workers in total from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire to support restoration efforts in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida. The energy company also provided more than 100 additional local contract crews who were part of the larger Eversource contingent that recently completed its mutual assistance deployment to help rebuild the electric system in the Raceland, Louisiana, area.
In recognition of National Preparedness Month, Eversource is encouraging customers to always stay prepared ahead of time as well. The energy company provides several, simple tips for customers to take before, during and after a storm to be prepared, including having a personal emergency plan in the event of an emergency. Eversource recommends going through a storm safety checklist in advance of storms, designating a safe meeting place for family members, and preparing or re-stocking a storm kit that includes necessities like non-perishable food, water, batteries, a First Aid kit and other essential items.
Customers can find more information on emergency preparedness tips on Eversource.com, and additional National Preparedness Month resources can be found at ready.gov.
