This week, SWEPCO held one of its most important after-action-reviews to date after successfully restoring power to over 280,000 customers following the crippling June 16 storm across Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
State and local members with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), law enforcement, hospital, nursing home, and assisted living officials were invited to SWEPCO headquarters in downtown Shreveport to share lessons learned.
SWEPCO moderated the open discussion around improved support for these critical members of our local communities before the next storm strikes.
“If we’re going to take steps forward, we have to be honest and talk about it,” said SWEPCO’s External Affairs Manager, Michael Corbin, who planned and executed the meeting. “That’s why we wanted to do this. By taking time to explore what we did good, what we can do better, and how we can bring like-agencies together and find collaboration for backup generation, our community will be stronger and better prepared when the next storm occurs.”
Unlike any other storm in recent history, last month’s powerful thunderstorm packed winds over 100 miles an hour that heavily damaged dozens of transmission poles and hundreds more utility poles. In all, nearly 4,000 lineworkers and other restoration experts worked across SWEPCO’s three-state service area to restore the power.
Hospital officials, like Willis Knighton Health System safety officer Jerry Ivey, spoke about the need for greater governmental requirements for all hospital systems. According to Ivey’s assessment, the lack of government requirements for mandatory air conditioning for hospitals and health care facilities has resulted in approximately 90 percent of all hospitals lacking proper generator power for air, an issue he said was dangerously evident during a major power outage in the heart of the summer.
“The fact that we are coming back through and giving us a voice, that’s what we need,” Ivey said. “Keeping us at full operation is key and critical, and I want to be a voice for all hospitals.”
GOHSEP officials urged local emergency management leaders, critical care and first responders of the need to routinely care and check on their backup systems, including their power generation systems.
“This is one of the better after-action-reviews because it felt like you could be very open and not criticized for what you said,” added Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office Captain Robert Jump who also serves as the parish’s Deputy Director for Homeland Security. “Most people who feel judged for what you say keep it in and if it’s not in the open then problems aren’t fixed, and we may suffer for it in the long run.”
More detailed meetings will be held with hospitals and other medical facilities moving forward, Corbin added.
“Internally we can take feedback we heard today and learn what changes in communications we need to make,” he added.