Isaias 1 Year Later: Eversource Outlines Response 'Improvements'

CONNECTICUT — As Connecticut residents this week looked back on the one-year anniversary of a pounding by Tropical Storm Isaias, the giant electric utility Eversource Energy outlined what it termed "the many changes and improvements" made to its response procedures over the past 12 months.

An extensive list was released by Eversource Wednesday. The energy company's "Emergency Response Plan" or ERP, now has "new data functionality, increased system capacity and streamlined response processes," companioning official said.

"Since Tropical Storm Isaias, we’ve been listening to our customers, community leaders and regulators, and we've used that feedback to improve our Emergency Response Plan," Eversource President of Electric Operations Craig Hallstrom said. "Storms are happening more frequently and are more intense."

Isaias wreaked havoc throughout the state the first week in August of last year and power was out for several days in most communities — at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Hallstrom said that, since Isaias, Eversource has responded to 10 "significant storms" in Connecticut that, in total, caused more than 409,000 outages across the state.

"And we quickly responded and restored power to our customers.," he said. "We continue working hard to strengthen the system to better withstand the fierce weather we've been seeing. While we can’t prevent storms from happening, we understand that customers depend on us to restore power as quickly and safely as possible and we take that responsibility seriously."

He added that, among the many improvements, Eversource's "team of community liaisons" will be able to provide information more quickly to all 149 communities the company serves.

That involves the rollout of a new online "municipal hub," what Eversource officials say is "a vital tool for liaisons during storms, allowing them to better communicate with municipalities as the company addresses their priorities, critical facilities and blocked roads."

The value of such a move was illustrated in Vernon, when, several days after the storm and restoration efforts stalled, municipal officials were able to physically track down perplexed line workers and hook each crew up with a public works crew armed with maps and outage data.

Now, Eversource officials said, the online hub's outage map will allow local emergency officials to "add new information about issues as they happen and see real-time updates regarding the status of their critical facilities and blocked roads."

Eversource listed other improvements to its storm procedures that include:

• Leveraging private contractor crews from the western U.S. to supplement home crews ahead of the storm
• Creating a new team to work directly with municipalities and first responders to prioritize public-safety emergencies, clear blocked roads and speed the response to urgent repairs
• Expanding capacity for online outage reporting and stress-testing the system to handle unusually high call volumes
• Implementing a standard cadence of communications to all communities before, during and after a storm, along with improved training and municipal integration for Community Liaisons
• Increasing outreach to customers with life-threatening medical needs so they stay well-informed during an outage
• Using drone technology and other innovative techniques to more quickly identify what needs to be repaired and in which locations

Eversource officials said, along with the revamped ERP, the energy company "continues investing tens of millions of dollars annually to strengthen its delivery system, installing thousands of new, stronger poles, thicker tree wire and smart grid equipment such as "smart switches" that enable system operators to isolate power outages and remotely reroute power from another source within minutes."

Also employed now are "Smart fuses" that automatically restore power to customers when a tree limb temporarily contacts wires and help protect the electric system when a problem is detected, Eversource officials said.

Pptical ground wire that enhances communication between company facilities and protects the high-voltage transmission system from severe weather conditions, such as lightning strikes, are also in use, utility officials said.

What Eversource officials call a "comprehensive and robust year-round vegetation management program" has also been a "major component of preparedness efforts," according to the report.

"In 2020, 77 percent of power outages in Connecticut were caused by trees, which is why proactive trimming and removal of trees – to the extent property owners allow – is vital to reduce the possibility of outages in all weather conditions. As the number of dead and dying trees along streets across the state continued to rise, the level of risk to public safety and reliability compounds when property owners refuse to grant permission to conduct proactive vegetation maintenance," Eversource officials said.

Hallstrom promoted a team effort between customers and the utility.

"Even with all of our efforts, a major storm could still cause outages that will last for days," he said. "Storm preparation is a shared responsibility, and we encourage our customers to also be prepared and know what to do before, during and after a storm – right along with us."