Exercise reinforces storm roles and
processes for employees
FAIRMONT, W.Va., June 10,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mon Power, a subsidiary of
FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), recently completed an annual
emergency preparation drill focused on testing its storm
restoration process in the event severe weather causes outages
throughout its service area.
Held at Mon Power's Fairmont
headquarters, the drill prepared employees for storm restoration
duties and reviewed the processes and tools critical to getting the
lights back on as safely and quickly as possible.
Jim Myers, President of
FirstEnergy's West Virginia Operations: "Storm drills provide
our employees a controlled, no-fault forum to practice and sharpen
their skills in preparation for severe weather. These exercises
also support service reliability for our customers, in addition to
tree trimming and projects that harden our electric infrastructure
and enhance its resiliency."
The drill's primary scenario focused on lines of powerful June
thunderstorms capable of producing gusts greater than 70 mph. The
gusts toppled trees, causing widespread damage to poles and wires
and disrupting electric service to more than 270,000 of Mon Power's
395,000 customers.
Further complicating the weather drill was a hypothetical second
issue that involved significant damage to several electric
substations three days prior to the storm, causing outages for
approximately 10,000 customers. Drill participants had to work
through the restoration process for that unique event while also
preparing for the onset of severe weather. Mon Power drill
participants broke into groups to address topics including safety,
logistics, operations, and planning and analysis, among others.
As part of the training, Mon Power activated its Incident
Command System (ICS). ICS is a nationally recognized and accepted
emergency management process used by all levels of government as
well as many non-governmental organizations and the private sector
to coordinate the response to major storms or other natural
disasters.
In the aftermath of a major weather event, Mon Power crews
follow a proven restoration process and typically address outages
that restore the largest number of customers before moving to more
isolated problems. They generally give priority to hospitals and
other critical medical facilities, communications facilities and
emergency response agencies. After that, crews work to restore
power as quickly as possible to the rest of the customers.
For more information about FirstEnergy's storm restoration
process and tips for staying safe, visit the 24/7 Power Center at
firstenergycorp.com/outages.
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power
at mon-power.com, on X, formally known as
Twitter @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook
at facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Visit FirstEnergy online at firstenergycorp.com and
follow FirstEnergy on X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: A photo of FirstEnergy employees
conducting a storm drill is available for download on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.