What does it take to survive hurricane season each year for utilities—especially those in the Southeastern United States? It takes a lot, including well-trained utility workers, partnerships with other utilities and great...
Hurricane Ida made landfall Aug. 29, 2021, at 11:55 a.m. CDT as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane near Port Fourchon, La., with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Preliminary reports from NASA suggest that the...
On Oct. 28, 2020, Hurricane Zeta made landfall in southeastern Louisiana, wreaking havoc on the region’s infrastructure. As the 27th named tropical storm and 11th hurricane in 2020, Zeta is just the latest storm in an...
Emergencies can occur anywhere at any time, including the workplace. Our immediate concerns, as they should be, are to minimize loss of life and property. But business operations will be affected as well. What can employers...
While not specifically referencing Armageddon, the President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) has released a report, titled "Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage," that may not be too far away from that...
Category 4 Hurricane Michael, with 155-mph winds, hit the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, Oct. 10. According to Reuters, over 2.6 million utility customers were initially without power as the storm cut a path of destruction...
Late one Friday night in May 2016, a massive electrical fire consumed the majority of Wirco Alloy Engineering and Casting Foundry (Wirco-AECCO) in Champaign, Ill. The fire, sparked by a shorted-out fan, quickly ignited the...
By all measures, 2017 was one of the most destructive weather years in American history. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), last year’s natural disasters—including catastrophic hurricanes...
In the weeks after Winter Storm Riley tore through the Midwest and the East Coast, Mother Nature has not slowed down. Two more nor’easters have since impacted the Northeast, leaving utilities with little downtime before...
Four months after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on the island of Puerto Rico, recovery is still a matter of urgent concern. The effort hit a legal snag recently when the island's utility came under intense scrutiny for...
Three months after Puerto Rico was hit by back-to-back hurricanes, the island is still struggling with the recovery. In that time, stakeholders have convened a working group for developing a strategy to rebuild the island's...
Another storm on the horizon and another image of electric utility trucks heading off to help with recovery efforts. That seemed to be an almost-nightly occurrence in late August through mid-September, as hurricanes Harvey...
