PPL Electric Utilities' Northeast Regional Storm Command Center, just unveiled to community leaders Friday, will have its first real-world trial Sunday as a storm system composed of cold weather and Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the region.
The timing of the open house at PPL's Scranton facility couldn't be better as the East Coast braces for the expected landfall early next week of Hurricane Sandy.
"We did not stage the hurricane," PPL regional spokesman Richard Beasley told local and state officials. "I've heard that joke 20 times today."
The levity was brief, as PPL Electric Utilities President Gary Dudkin gave an overview of lessons the utility learned from three major weather events in 2011 and the preparations PPL is taking for Sandy, expected to arrive late Monday or early Tuesday.
The company has arranged for 600 additional crews to be in the state, some from as far away as Arkansas. PPL retirees are on deck to assist in the response.
It's not rain or snow that knocks out power. It's falling limbs and trees.
The remaining leaves on the trees are like sails, catching wind and pulling limbs down onto power lines. The hurricane is predicted to be slow moving - 10 to 15 mph - meaning days of heavy rains and high wind.
"This slow-moving storm will come over us and hit us with winds and take forever to pass," Mr. Dudkin said.
As Mr. Dudkin spoke, Gary Drapek of the United Way of Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, received several text message alerts form the American Red Cross about the anticipated damage from the storm.
Some of the changes in place as Sandy bears down on the East Coast:
-âLackawanna County Emergency Management Center will have a direct, real-time link to the PPL regional command center.
-âThe command center structure standardizes the response across the PPL system and more efficiently dispatches crews to problem areas.
-âAn outside vendor will be available to handle increased call volume, a key complaint in the response to last fall's storms.
-âIndividual PPL customers may register for "PPL Alerts" and be notified of outages and restoration time via e-mail or text messages.
PPL has more than doubled its investment on infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement for its system of 50,000 miles of line and 400 substations. For years, the company spent about $275 million annually. In 2012, the company will have spent $660 million. Mr. Dudkin explained that much of PPL's existing lines, towers, poles and substations were installed in the 1950s, '60s or '70s and are nearing the end of their useful life. The company also spent $45 million on tree and limb removal, $12 million more than in 2011, hoping to reduce storm damage to lines.
The group toured the command center, which features about two dozen work stations and three large screens to display maps and data about outages.
As the event ended, Mr. Beasley said goodbye to elected officials and civic leaders.
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, I may be speaking with each of you over the next couple of days."
Contact the writer: dfalchek@timesshamrock.com PPL alerts
PPL customers can sign up for text message alerts that provide updates on the cause of the customer's power outage, repair crew status and estimated restoration times. Go to www.pplelectric.com and under My Account, choose "PPL Alerts."