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Operational Response to Severe Weather Super Storm Sandy – A Game Changer

Operational Response to Severe Weather Super Storm Sandy – A Game Changer. William J. Akley, Sr Vice President, National Grid. Impact of Super Storm Sandy Emergency Response First 5 hours Restoration Low pressure system impact High pressure system impact Infrastructure rebuild

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Operational Response to Severe Weather Super Storm Sandy – A Game Changer

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  1. Operational Response to Severe Weather Super Storm Sandy – A Game Changer William J. Akley, Sr Vice President, National Grid

  2. Impact of Super Storm Sandy Emergency Response First 5 hours Restoration Low pressure system impact High pressure system impact Infrastructure rebuild Mutual aid Beyond the meter Q & A Operational Response to Severe Weather

  3. Super Storm Sandy Sandy and the nor’easter that followed nine days later resulted in more power outages (8.6M) to homes & businesses than any other storm in history. This storm was historic and exceeded predictions of NOAA, FEMA and the US Coast Guard. Sandy brought unprecedented flooding, taking a number of lives and in its course, destroying many homes & businesses. October 25, 2012 – 11am October 27, 2012 – 11am October 29, 2012 – 11am

  4. The impact – New York City FEMA designated flood zones NYC communities impacted by flooding

  5. The impact – Long Island FEMA designated flood zones Communities on Long Island’s south shore impacted by flooding

  6. National Grid’s gas restoration overview • 140,000 gas customers impacted mainly along south shore of LI, Rockaway Peninsula, Brooklyn, Staten Island • Gas: proactive isolation of gas system in flood zone areas • Over 20,000 customer gas services proactively ‘isolated’ due to extreme flooding • High and low pressure safety inspections-over 72,000 premises • Approximately 42,000 HP service regulator replacements • Over 13 miles of mains replaced (Breezy Point, Staten Island) Stony Brook Babylon Village

  7. Highlights of our gas restoration efforts downstate NY • Took pre-emptive action to ensure system remained intact to it from any serious water penetration • Isolated the gas system • Patrolled flood zones • Inspected critical valves • Able to protect integrity of natural gas system to ensure adequate supply • An estimated 60,000 customer heating systems were destroyed in homes and businesses of NYC and LI customers on LI south shore / Rockaway Peninsula / Brooklyn / Staten Island Breezy Point (both photos)

  8. Highlights of our gas restoration efforts downstate NY • Safe electric power was a pre-requisite for safe restoration of gas equipment (electric pilots) • Damage assessment phase for all accessible areas • Determine most effective way to deploy resources to restore service • Labor intensive restoration process • Requires National Grid personnel to visit each individual customers, and if necessary, gain access to homes and businesses Staten Island Breezy Point

  9. Highlights of our gas restoration efforts downstate NY • At peak, more than 1,600 personnel in the region dedicated to natural gas restoration • Crews from National Grid’s other regions • Continuously relocating and adding personnel to strengthen workforce • 570 personnel from over 45 mutual aid companies • National Grid retirees brought in to help with restoration effort • Leveraged our trade ally partnership with plumbers to help speed up the restoration process and ensure safety of customers • Safety of employees and customers paramount throughout effort • Employee hotline established – direct pipeline to HR; counseling services Staten Island (both photos)

  10. Beyond the Meter - Reconnecting our Customers • Community Outreach Centers established in hardest hit areas • 8 centers staffed by 100 National Grid employees • Working together with multiple organizations, trade allies, townships, cities, municipalities • On the ground, door-to-door outreach • NYC Rapid Repair program • Replace all flood damaged gas and electric equipment in customers’ homes • Connect gas and electric service in real time Amityville Harbor (both photos)

  11. Reconnecting our customers - outreach materials

  12. Rebuilding our communities • Our community liaisons provided operational and communication support in the most devastated areas of LI • Distributed much needed supplies, blankets, batteries, water, CO detectors, electric heaters (FEMA / NYPD), pre-holiday turkey donation • Heart Share emergency customer assistance program • One time bill credit (all eligible customers receive $150 credit to their natural gas bill) • Customer assistance for HEAP-eligible customers Rockaway Peninsula Long Beach

  13. Rebuilding our communities National Grid launches Emergency Economic and Community Redevelopment Program • $30 million program designed to complement funding allocated to communities and businesses through federal and state/city programs, insurance or other emergency sources • Targeted to gas customers, businesses, and communities most impacted by the hurricane and flooding • Designed to support vulnerable customers, encourage job retention in heavily impacted communities, and to promote installation of energy efficient equipment and systems Breezy Point

  14. Preliminary lessons learned • Isolation areas • IS solutions – portable systems • Training / drills • Gas mutual aid • Coordination with electric • New challenges with logistics • Timeliness of data • Facilities within the flood zone • Employee safety and support • Third party support Staten Island Gas staging area – Hempstead, NY

  15. We couldn’t have done it without you! • A special thank you to all the utilities who came to our aid • We couldn’t have accomplished as much as we have without the help of your crews and engineering teams! • Another big thanks to our manufacturing and vendor partners • You provided us with all of the support and materials to help us get the job done! • National Guard and other military • Our regulators • Plumbers / electricians • Still lots of work to do, but we wanted to take a moment to show our appreciation for all your support during this enormous challenge! THANK YOU!

  16. Alliant Energy Atlanta G&L ATMOS Energy Central Hudson CNG/CTG Citizens Energy Columbia Gas/Nisource Con Edison Consumers Gas Corning Dominion DTE Energy Duke Energy Enbridge Florida Public Utilities GazMetro INTEGRYS Liberty Energy, NH Louisville G&E Madison G&E Memphis L G&W National Fuel New England Gas Co. NSTAR/Yankee NYSEG/Rochester G&E Orange & Rockland PECO Peoples Gas Philadelphia Gas Works Piedment PSE&G Puget Sound SEMCO Energy SEMPRA Spectra / Union Gas St. Lawrence Southwest Gas SUG/Missouri THANK YOU for helping restore our customers! TECO UGI UGI HVAC Unitil (MA/NH/ME) Vectron Energy Washington Gas Xcel Energy 1 (Min/WIS) Xcel Energy 2 (Min/Wis) Xcel Energy 3(Colorado) DDS DEKATHERM KS Energy Wisconsin Liberty Underground Meade100 * Precision Pipe *

  17. Rebuilding our communities Unprecedented. Quite simply, there is no other way to describe Hurricane Sandy, the historic superstorm that slammed into the Northeastern United States on October 29, 2012. Its destruction was far-reaching, changing the physical landscape of a portion of our service area, and challenging National Grid to restore service as quickly and safely as possible. Breezy Point

  18. Questions and Answers

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