As its final recommendation, Connecticut”™s Two Storm Panel advised the state to coordinate with businesses of all sizes to create a culture of preparedness that extends beyond the workplace.
It remains whether businesses have made preparation an afterthought in the wake of the October nor”™easter and Tropical Storm Irene in late August.
In a 40-page document, the Two Storm Panel outlined steps Connecticut could take to avoid a repetition of the extended blackouts that darkened parts of Fairfield County and the rest of the state following the two storms. The panel mostly confined its recommendations to public agencies, utilities and community providers, without addressing steps many businesses should take to ready themselves for future disasters.
The panel was chaired by retired U.S. Air Force Gen. James Skiff and Joe McGee, vice president of public policy for the Business Council of Fairfield County based in Stamford.
“The cost of these two storms will exceed $750 million,” the panel wrote. That figure does not include uninsured losses which could push the losses over $1 billion ”¦ Flawed restoration schedules and poor communication between utilities and municipalities exacerbated the situation and fueled public frustration and outrage.”
The panel”™s recommendations included:
Ӣ performance standards for utility recovery and restoration after storms;
Ӣ improved worst-case planning and staffing by the stateӪs utilities;
”¢ “hardened” infrastructure to withstand natural disasters;
”¢ working to improve a “toxic relationship” between utility management and labor;
”¢ electric “microgrids” to mitigate the impact of widespread power outages;
”¢Â better collaboration among agencies and companies on tree trimming;
Ӣ increased planning between municipalities and utilities before a storm or disaster is imminent;
”¢Â additional enforcement resources for Connecticut”™s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority and the Connecticut Siting Council; and
Ӣ a new research center to study storm hazard mitigation and power system resiliency.
“We”™ve been working on some ideas since the days immediately after Tropical Storm Irene, and we”™ve been watching the work of the Two Storm Panel every step of the way,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “During that time, we”™ve been working to develop a set of proposals to address how the state, its municipalities, and its utilities can better respond in situations like the two we witnessed in August and October. These 82 recommendations are welcomed because they will help us make what we”™ve been getting ready to propose ”¦ even better.”
