READING, PA — FirstEnergy Pennsylvania Electric Company (FE PA), operating as Met-Ed in eastern Pennsylvania, has completed its annual emergency preparation drill. This exercise tested the company’s storm restoration process to handle outages caused by severe weather.
Participants engaged in the drill both remotely and in-person at Met-Ed’s Reading headquarters. This hybrid approach mirrors the actual storm restoration activities using electronic storm tools to manage fieldwork. The drill aimed to prepare employees for storm restoration duties and review essential processes and tools needed to restore power safely and quickly.
“Storm drills provide our employees a controlled, no-fault forum to practice and sharpen their skills in preparation for severe weather, including summer thunderstorms packing strong wind gusts,” said Scott Wyman, President of FirstEnergy’s Pennsylvania Operations. “Regular emergency drills are another way we work to improve electric service for our customers, in addition to tree trimming and projects we do to harden our electric infrastructure and enhance its resiliency.”
The main scenario of the drill involved severe June thunderstorms with gusts exceeding 70 mph hitting Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The hypothetical storms caused trees to fall, damaging poles and wires, and disrupting electric service to over 400,000 of Met-Ed’s 592,000 customers.
Adding complexity, the drill also simulated significant damage to two electric substations and communication lines. Participants had to quickly determine how to restore power safely and efficiently under these challenging conditions, knowing the substations were unavailable.
Met-Ed activated its Incident Command System (ICS) during the training. ICS is an emergency management process widely used by federal, state, and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations and the private sector, to coordinate responses to major storms or natural disasters.
Following a major weather event, Met-Ed crews adhere to a proven restoration process. They prioritize outages that affect the largest number of customers first, giving precedence to hospitals, critical medical facilities, communication centers, and emergency response agencies. After addressing these priorities, crews work to restore power to the remaining customers as quickly as possible.
For more information about FirstEnergy’s storm restoration process and tips for staying safe, visit their 24/7 Power Center.
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