National Grid president defends company at DPU hearing

Date: 12/14/2011

Dec. 12, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

EAST LONGMEADOW — Marcy Reed, president of National Grid in Massachusetts, defended her company’s response to widespread power outages resultant of the Oct. 29 snowstorm at a hearing hosted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) at East Longmeadow High School on Dec. 5.

The hearings are part of the department’s investigation into whether or not National Grid violated standards set by the DPU for adequate emergency preparedness and restoration of service.

Reed, conceded that the company needed to improve its communication with its crews and the community it serves, but stated that overall, given the severity of the storm and the recent history of severe weather in the area, the company responded adequately to the emergency.

“First, it’s important to note that the October storm was historic. It broke records that have stood since the late 1800s,” she said. “In fact, the snowstorm was classified as a ‘Level 5’ event, which is the highest level of our emergency response plan. ‘Level 5’ events are considered catastrophic events and are expected to occur once every eight to 10 years. Tropical Storm Irene was also a ‘Level 5’ event and it is very unusual that we would be hit with two Level 5 events in the course of just nine weeks.”

Reed explained that while the company began preparing for the storm on Oct. 26, as weather predictions became graver, out of town contractors began holding back crews, which slowed the restoration. Still, she said, more than 3,000 out-of-area personnel aided in the restoration of power.

“Notwithstanding these challenges, 50 percent of our customers were restored by Tuesday [Nov. 1] and 90 percent were restored by Friday [Nov. 4],” she said.

East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen Chair James Driscoll questioned those figures as they related to East Longmeadow and also questioned the level of planning that was done in anticipation of the storm.

“If the planning truly began on [Oct. 26], then there should have been more boots on the ground,” he said. “As far as there being 50 percent restoration on Tuesday and 90 percent on Friday, those may be the numbers overall, but those numbers are not even close in East Longmeadow.”

Driscoll, who also pointed out the Dec. 5 hearing was not the first there has been regarding National Grid in East Longmeadow, criticized the company and Reed herself for making promises that were not fulfilled.

“The town was assured when crews arrived that they would be working in staggered 18-hour shifts,” he said. “That never happened and the town also never saw the number of workers we were promised.

“We closed the shelter at Birchland Park Middle School on [Nov. 4] based on promises made and we were forced to set up a secondary shelter at the Council on Aging because there was still no power,” he added.

East Longmeadow Building Inspector Daniel Hellyer echoed Driscoll’s feelings on the lack of proper support and poor communication.

“I toured the whole town three times a day during that time and saw very few trucks, maybe two to four trucks at a time. Then on [Nov. 3], Miss Reed had a meeting with us at Birchland Park where she said the power would be up no later than [Nov. 4] at 9 p.m. The electrical inspector and I, knowing what we had seen, looked at each other and said, ‘This is not going to happen,’ and it didn’t,” he said. “On [Nov. 4], she had another meeting and assured us power would be back 100 percent and that did not happen either. We need to look at the fact that communication was here, but was not factual. We are counting on correct information, which we did not get.”

In response to an assertion by Reed that damage to the transmission lines feeding into the Shaker Road and East Longmeadow substations required three days to repair, Driscoll said the power company’s unwillingness to upgrade the infrastructure created part of the problem.

“There does not seem to be a definitive plan for upgrading the system,” he said. “Those three days could have been avoided if National Grid had a looped system. Right now, we are the caboose on the National Grid train.”

Congressman Richard Neal seconded Driscoll’s complaints about National Grid’s promises and conveyance of misinformation, stating the governor’s office was also given false information.

“When Gov. [Deval] Patrick said the power would be completely restored by Thursday [Nov. 3], he did so because he had been assured by National Grid that it would be,” he said.

Neal added that his office was flooded with angry phone calls from utility customers who could not get straight answers.

“When people don’t get adequate answers, their response is to call their congressional office and my office was inundated with calls,” he said.

State Sen. Gale Candaras called for a commission to investigate the utility company’s emergency response plans and begin levying fines against companies who do not have, or do not follow, adequate policies.

She lauded the out-of-town workers who she said helped “save” the residents of Western Massachusetts, but questioned why their presence was necessary.

“The fact of the matter is we should not have needed saving,” she said. “We should not have been vulnerable with our unreliable and archaic system.”

She also scoffed at the notion that the October storm was unforeseen or unprecedented and weather should not be an excuse for poor service.

“There was nothing unprecedented about it other than the fact that it happened on that particular date. These storms happen so often that they are called Nor’easters,” Candaras said. “It appears National Grid believes it can only deliver power to East Longmeadow in good weather. Perhaps it should be called the ‘Fair Weather Electric Company.’”

“People have no confidence the future will be any better, as evidence by the increase in the purchases of generators,” she added.

Not all who testified spoke ill of the company, however.

“This was a storm that stretched from Maryland to Maine and these problems were the same for every utility company,” Daniel Burack, chair of the East Longmeadow Board of Public Works, said. “We have had Nor’easters before, but we have never had to do this kind of clean-up.”

Patrick Brady, chair of the Wilbraham Board of Selectmen, said National Grid has been an ally through the town’s struggles with the June 1 tornado, July 26 microburst as well as the October snowstorm.

“National Grid has done such a great job that the town of Wilbraham nearly threw them a parade,” he said, adding that because of the company’s efforts, there were zero injuries as a result of downed power lines.

With that said, Brady said he supported the DPU’s decision to conduct an investigation.

“I am firmly committed to the notion of getting together like this to learn from our mistakes to better serve out constituents,” he said.

The hearing, which was the first of five throughout the state, was the initial step in the DPU’s investigation. Once the hearings are complete, Marc Tassone, an attorney with the DPU explained, the department will move to the next phase of the investigation, which involves collecting more information and calling expert witnesses to testify.

Those who wish to submit documentation to the DPU privy to the investigation may do so until Dec. 22.

According to the DPU’s request for comments and petitions for intervention, “All documents (including comments and petitions to intervene) should also be submitted to the department in electronic format using one of the following methods: (1) by email attachment to dpu.efiling@state.ma.us and the hearing officer, jennifer.M.Murphy@state.ma.us; or (2) on CD-ROM. The email or CD-ROM label must specify: (1) the docket number of the proceeding (D.P.U. 11-119-A); (2) the name of the person or company submitting the filing; and (3) a brief descriptive title of the document.”

All documents will be posted on the DPU website.