It's been a quiet hurricane season in the Lehigh Valley so far, but forgetting about the devastation that the big storms can cause might add up to a gloomy forecast for the future.
It was almost exactly a year ago that Hurricane Irene knocked the lights out of the Lehigh Valley and eastern Pennsylvania. It struck Aug. 27-28, causing about 1.3 million electric customers to lose power.
A report this month from the state Public Utility Commission says electric companies could have been better prepared when the storm struck and should do more to ensure they are ready when the weather turns wicked again.
The report questions why Met-Ed sent crews elsewhere to fix hurricane damage as part of a mutual aid effort, despite forecasts the hurricane could hit here.
The crews, totaling 41 linemen and two mechanics, were headed to Florida but were diverted to the Baltimore area on Aug. 23 and remained out of state until Aug. 28.
"It is not clear if this impacted the ability of Met-Ed to restore service to customers, but it is concerning that Met-Ed would even consider sending their crews out of the area, given the forecasts," the report says.
Met-Ed is continuing to review its mutual assistance procedures, spokesman Scott Surgeoner said, and will ensure workers are available for repair duties during future storms.
The state didn't cite similar issues with PPL and PECO, but said those two utilities had "significant problems with their customer call center and its ability to handle the high volume of calls" regarding Hurricane Irene.
The report called it "staggering" that 804,189 calls to PPL resulted in customers receiving a message that all lines were busy and they should call back later. Callers were disconnected without being given the opportunity to hold or use an automated system.
PPL couldn't handle the call volume because of a limited number of inbound phone lines and a software issue, the state says in its report, while PECO's overflow call contractor had a software issue that resulted in about 60,000 callers getting busy signals.
PPL has worked with its vendors to make more call center representatives available during bad storms, spokesman Kurt Blumenau said. Some of those vendors took calls during heavy thunderstorms this summer.
"Some of the improvements we've made have already been tested and have worked well," he said.
PECO has improved its software and hardware monitoring and implemented a system to identify and quickly respond to issues, spokesman Ben Armstrong said.
PECO and PPL said they also are working to provide more timely and accurate information to customers about when their electricity might be restored.
PPL added assessors so the extent of storm damage can be gauged sooner and relayed to customers. PECO will participate in a national utility workshop in October that includes the sharing of best practices for developing and communicating estimated restoration times.
The state says PECO did a satisfactory job of coordinating with county emergency management officials during Hurricane Irene, while PPL and Met-Ed should do better.
Days after the storm hit, Monroe County wanted to know when power would be restored in some areas. It contacted the Public Utility Commission to get information from Met-Ed and contacted the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to get information from PPL, the report says.
The report says PPL and Met-Ed did not offer a liaison to county 911 centers or emergency management agencies. Lehigh County disputed that, telling me PPL did have someone at its emergency center during the hurricane.
"They performed very well for us," Emergency Management Director Tom Nervine said.
Met-Ed and PPL have had reps at Northampton County's command posts during past storms but not during Hurricane Irene, said Bob Mateff, director of emergency management services.
He said being on-site gives the utilities access to real-time information on what emergency officials are dealing with and allows them to coordinate their responses. The alternative, Mateff said, is to communicate by phone and fax, which isn't as helpful.
Surgeoner told me that during future storms, Met-Ed intends to have an employee in county emergency centers when requested or when having representation would be helpful.
Blumenau said PPL has dispatched representatives to counties in the past, with regional community relations directors staying in touch with county officials and deciding whether to send someone. That's how a rep ended up at Lehigh County during Hurricane Irene.
Since Hurricane Irene, PPL has talked with county officials and established formal criteria to trigger when a representative should be assigned, based on the number of PPL customers in the county and the number without power. He said the company will be flexible, though, and send a rep if one is requested.
The PUC's report is on my blog at http://blogs.mcall.com/watchdog/.
The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me by email at watchdog@mcall.com, by phone at 610-841-2364 (ADOG), by fax at 610-820-6693, or by mail at The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. Follow me on Twitter at mcwatchdog and on Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog.
