Electric Company Incident Management Teams to Deploy to Puerto Rico to Support Ongoing Power Restoration Mission

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Dec 08, 2017, 15:15 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The electric power industry is deploying a contingent of seven incident management teams (IMTs) to Puerto Rico this weekend to support ongoing power restoration efforts across the island. These IMTs, each comprising seven to 10 operations experts, will be assigned to seven key regions on the island and will coordinate with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), both of which already are working to restore power to the people of Puerto Rico.

As part of the industry's response, several electric companies are entering into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PREPA. The MOU was developed by the American Public Power Association (APPA), the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), and will serve as a vehicle that allows electric companies on the mainland (that are members of APPA, EEI, or NRECA) to enter into emergency agreements to provide resources and workers to PREPA on a not-for-profit basis. The first phase of the MOU will include the IMTs now being dispatched to the island.

The initial IMT deployment will consist of storm response experts from investor-owned electric companies and public power utilities, with additional experts from electric cooperatives joining in a second relief wave.

"Since our industry first received the request for mutual assistance from PREPA at the end of October, we have been working aggressively to provide crews, equipment, materials, expertise, and additional resources to assist with the massive power restoration mission," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "The development and agreement of the MOU and the deployment of the first IMTs represent major steps forward in getting the lights back on for so many who have been without power since Hurricane Maria ravaged the island in late September. EEI and our member companies remain fully committed to doing all we can to assist our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico."

"APPA is pleased to participate in such a broad-based, collaborative industry effort and to send an IMT to the island," said APPA President and CEO Sue Kelly. "We all know that this restoration mission is complex and difficult, and we will continue to work together with PREPA and our federal partners to overcome these challenges."

"Electric cooperatives are proud to support these additional resources to expedite restoration efforts in Puerto Rico," NRECA CEO Jim Matheson said. "Co-ops have a unique understanding of the challenges involved in maintaining and restoring power in rural, rugged, and mountainous terrain. We look forward to bringing those skills to bear as part of this unified restoration effort."

A team of electric company storm response experts, led by Carlos D. Torres (retired from Con Edison in New York), has been in Puerto Rico since early November and is coordinating closely with local officials, PREPA, FEMA, and USACE. The team also is coordinating with technical experts from New York, deployed as part of an intergovernmental agreement, who have supported assessment and restoration efforts since Maria struck in September. Torres was recently appointed by Governor Rosselló to serve as the Power Restoration Coordinator to coordinate the multi-pronged restoration effort. The team is focused on assessing damages and putting into place a formal structure to support logistics, equipment needs, and supply chain issues and to ensure ongoing restoration efforts are safe, efficient, and effective.

In total, there are now more than 3,000 workers on the island who are dedicated to the power restoration mission. This includes PREPA's own workers and crews mobilized under USACE contracts. This number will grow as full assessments are completed and the coordinated restoration plan is fully implemented.

Please follow @Edison_Electric, @PublicPowerOrg, and @NRECANews for additional updates.

APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. APPA represents public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 49 million people that public power utilities serve and the 93,000 people they employ. Our association advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations. Our members strengthen their communities by providing superior service, engaging citizens, and instilling pride in community-owned power.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for about 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation's more than 900 not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states.

SOURCE Edison Electric Institute