Utility Restoration Review in NJ Following Isaias

Following every major weather event, there are always lessons that can be learned by doing a utility restoration review to improve preparations and response protocols for the next event.  The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) released a report reviewing the efforts of the electric utilities in New Jersey during Tropical Storm Isaias and provided a number of recommendations.  The Board’s review showed that following the storm the EDCs mobilized more than 13,000 utility workers and support personnel in order to restore power to customers as quickly and safely as possible. Service was restored within 72 hours to more than 70 percent of utility customers affected by the storm. All affected customers were restored within a week, by August 11.

What the Utility Restoration Review Revealed

The state’s investor-owned electric utilities include Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L), Atlantic City Electric (ACE), Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G), and Rockland Electric Company. 

Overall, the storm caused widespread outages – well over 1 million people lost power the day the storm hit the state.  On the plus side, the BPU gave relatively high marks for the utilities’ restoration efficacy, given that the event occurred during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Regarding restoration forecasts, and reducing go-forward outages in general, the BPU report offered several recommendations for improvement.  These include:

• Improving the frequency and accuracy of communications with elected officials, especially as it relates to post-storm restoration status.
• Improving utility tree trimming strategies to enhance prioritization effectiveness – in other words, focusing efforts on areas, like certain suburban parts of the state, that have a large tree population that encroaches on utility infrastructure. 
• Implementing better procedures to routinely evaluate the impact of projects to harden the grid.
• Enhancing outage management systems to optimize the handling of peak call center volume.
• Conducting an analysis to determine the feasibility of undergrounding lines for at least 5 of each utility’s “worst-performing circuits.”

We all know that the accuracy of estimated restoration times is critical, but only time will tell if the NJ BPU report prompts sustainable improvement in this regard.  And it’s not just NJ – electric utilities in other states, including New York, are also under scrutiny over their performance immediately following the storm. 

One thing I do know is that every storm offers lessons learned, and if any utility restoration review fosters measurable improvement in the utilities’ restoration forecasts, we’ll all be better off for it.