City of Apache Junction’s Post

As we observe #811Day, we’re urging residents, businesses, and contractors to prioritize safety. Before starting any digging project, large or small, make the call to 811 to avoid damaging underground utility lines. With over 6,580 miles of electric lines and 3,700 miles of natural gas pipelines, it's crucial to prevent injuries and service disruptions. Learn more about safe digging practices: http://spr.ly/6044YSL0u

🔥 Pacific Gas and Electric Company is weighing Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) for nearly 30,000 customers as wildfire risks rise. As extreme weather becomes more frequent, utilities face tough decisions to protect communities while maintaining grid reliability. Just read a POWERGRID article that dives into the challenges PG&E is navigating, balancing public safety with the complexities of outage management: Check it out to stay up to speed on how PSPS events impact the industry and what’s at stake: https://ow.ly/L9HP30sHhrz #WildfireRisk #UtilitySafety #GridManagement #OutagePrevention #PowerGrid

My heart goes out to the people of LaPorte, TX, where initial stories suggest another gas pipeline breach has caused chaos and damage. We urgently need prayers for their safety and well-being. As of now, there's no word on any injuries or fatalities. Once an evaluation is completed, we hope to know the causes of such undesirable events and correct them to prevent recurrence. "Accidents" like these can be minimized with a proper focus on high-reliability operations and organization. Link: https://lnkd.in/gzdZ_YFw

Nice to see other utilities outside of CA adapt to pre-emptive measures that reduce ignitions and prevent large scale wildfires. It's a proven fact that PSPS (Public Safety Power Shutoffs) and EPSS (Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings) are big factors in reducing or eliminating possible ignitions!

I wrote an article for The Conversation about public safety power shutoffs after what many of us in Colorado experienced recently. The article is written for a lay-person audience and attempts to explain why these happen, the challenges utilities face, and how essential it is to keep a clear, transparent line of communication between utility and customer during these events. https://lnkd.in/ed5R3gf7

Anyone connected with the North Sea Oil and Gas industry will know that today marks 36 years since the Piper Alpha disaster. Many if not all senior leaders across the industry will pen messages both internally and externally to comment on how we must never forget the events of that night. Whilst the words are unquestionably heartfelt, I often think a better way to remember those that died would be for every senior to take 30 minutes to: Read 5 randomly selected live ORAs. Read 5 randomly selected safety critical maintenance deferrals. Look at 5 currently unassessed overdue safety critical corrective work orders. After doing so ask themselves “Am I comfortable that these and the other controls we have are keeping my people safe?” and do what is necessary based on the answer. Ask Lord Cullen said at the 25 year anniversary. “The industry must never forget to be afraid”.

https://lnkd.in/gMxweP7z Aging buried natural gas pipelines are a hazard waiting to happen. Designed to last 50 years, those within the infrastructure are nearing the "peak" of reliability. I worked with a national litigator evaluating manufactured homes in an area of Mississippi that had such catastrophe many years ago causing death and destruction. If there is any luck to this, it was a mostly rural area. Have you ever looked and surveyed the area surrounding your homes relation to buried natural gas lines? Might be surprised at the location and age, wondering if it is past the "peak" of reliability.

The utilities are embracing the cutting edge technologies that can make a real difference in wildfire detection and prevention. The Gridware and Delphire technologies mentioned, in this very comprehensive guidebook produced by PG&E, are making an impact that will save humanity billions in disaster prevention. All utilities should be looking at these technologies. Wildfire is not limited to California as the good people of Texas realized in February.

The Washington Energy Resilience and Emergency Management Office (EREMO) at the Department of Commerce recently published the 2023 State Fuel Action Plan. Authorized in Washington State statute and through related Presidential directives and federal law, the plan describes the fuel supply chain, hazards to fuel infrastructure, and tactics available to the state for responding to a fuel shortage or disruption. The Washington State Fuel Action Plan is meant to be an emergency response plan and is organized by the following actions: - Notification and activation - Situational assessment - Damage assessment - Assessment and prioritization of fuel needs - Implementation of fuel conservation measures - Coordination with neighboring states, federal & state agencies, local jurisdictions, and private industry partners - Implementation of waivers - Allocation of emergency fuels - Recovery EREMO employed the state energy emergency planning committee that includes key state agencies, federal agencies, Tribes, and local jurisdictions, to develop the plan. #fuel #emergency #naturaldisasters #washington #disaster #relief #transportation #mobile #onsite #fueling #urgent

PG&E warns of possible power shutoffs in Northern California due to fire risks. Learn more about how PG&E is prioritizing safety.