We will now continue with the content of the first lesson.
What happens when the lights go out?
The commercial power grid had been impacted by a localized or widespread event.
The power utility provides a long term time period until widespread power might be restored.
Facilities normally serviced by the grid do not have electrical power, yet the community requires these facilities to provide response and initial recovery support.
"Critical facilities" are defined as those structures from which essential services and functions for victim survival, continuation of public safety actions, and disaster recovery are performed or provided.
Shelters, emergency operation centers; public health, public drinking water, sewer and wastewater facilities are all examples of critical facilities.
These are facilities typically owned and operated by a municipality, county, State or Tribal Nation government, and are critical to event response and recovery in the community.
Examples include public schools and universities being used as shelters, various public safety related facilities (police stations, 911 call centers, fire stations, etc.), public water and waste water facilities, public hospitals, prisons and correctional facilities, and emergency medical service facilities.
Private facilities that are considered critical (Continued)
Not owned and operated by a municipality, county, State or Tribal Nation government, but critical to event response and recovery in the community
Examples include churches or houses of worship being used as shelters, hospitals, prisons and correctional facilities, emergency medical service facilities, dialysis centers, and private water and wastewater facilities.
Sometimes commercial facilities can be deemed critical, situation-dependent.
Examples of commercial facilities that have been deemed critical for an event
Small community convenience stores who provide the fuels used by the local public safety providers as the municipality size does not warrant or allow them operating a municipal fuel station.
During an ice storm, a local commercial propane supplier was provided a generator to supply propane to impacted residents for heat, personal sanitation, and meal preparation.
During some events, cellular transmission towers have been identified as being critical to local response and recovery efforts.
AM/FM radio stations have received generators to allow community messaging to be broadcast related to the event.
This is a local, county, State and/or Tribal Nation determination depending upon the event and its impacts to overall response and recovery activities and requirements.
The definition of “critical” can also alter as time passes.
Immediate response facilities such as police, fire, and hospitals may be deemed critical immediately after an event.
Water/Wastewater facilities may become critical as recovery operations continue.
The overall event scope and commercial grid restoration timeline defines much of what facility may be deemed “critical” at the time.
To begin, the local emergency manager of a municipality, county, or tribe identifies the facilities without power that are requesting Temporary Emergency Power, or generators.
If the municipality, county, or tribe can meet these needs locally, they do so. However, if these needs can’t be met locally, the emergency manager requests resources at the State or Tribal Nation level.
If the needs can’t be met at the State or Tribal Nation level, then the State or Tribal Nation requests resources at the Federal level.
The priority of facilities that need generators should be established at the local level and forwarded on with their requests for resources. However, the State or Tribal Nation can change that priority, or impose restrictions, as they see fit.
Facilities that ultimately receive generators are based on the final prioritization at the State or Tribal Nation level.
Depending upon the type of facility you may own or operate, there may possibly be a statutory or perhaps an applicable “industry standard” that requires you to have a backup generator installed.
If your facility supports governmental or community post-event first responder activities, there may be a statutory requirement for your facility to have backup power.
In some other locations, facilities such as fueling stations along an evacuation route may be statutorily required to have backup electrical power available. Depending upon those statutory requirements or “industry standards” the generator might provide power to all, or to only a certain component, of the total electrical requirement of the facility.
Some of those requirements may also dictate the installation of an automatic transfer switch to change the electrical feed into the facility from the commercial electrical distribution system, a.k.a “the grid”, to an electrical feed provided by the backup generator.
Automatic Transfer Switches are not very common and are typically found in facilities where critical facility systems must remain in a non-interruptible operational condition such as in certain segments of hospitals, data processing centers, etc.
If your facility requires a generator, and one is in fact already installed, there are additional operations and maintenance activities that should be performed.
Periodically scheduled full load operational tests should be part of your normal operations and maintenance routine for the generator and your facility.
Many generator owners run only the generator engine on a frequent basis and the generator is rarely, if ever, operated under a full electrical load condition. As a result, the full suite of components found on the generator are not all “exercised” regularly.
In many of those cases, many times after “the grid” has been impacted by an event, those generators typically operate for up to 48-72 hours before a component fails and they are no longer operational.
Conducting full load operational exercises with the generator also assists with the development and exercising of facility electrical cold start procedures.
Electrical equipment is prone to electrical power surge induced failure. Lightning strike at a facility can cause this, but surges caused by when the electrical power fails and comes back on unevenly or irregularly will also cause electrical equipment casualties.
When a generator starts up, it takes a period of time until the electrical power it is producing “settles down” and is consistent. If electrical equipment is not temporarily isolated from the reenergizing of the facilities electrical system, it could damage some of that equipment.
If the full electrical load requirements of the facility is “felt” by the generator as it starts up, this could overload the generator and cause it to fail.
A process to reenergize the facility one electrical load segment at a time is strongly recommended.
This can be as simple as turning off all the electrical breakers in the electrical panel(s) when the power fails, and then reenergizing them one at a time once the generator has begun to operate.
It could also be as extreme as unplugging every piece of electrical equipment and plugging them in and restarting them one after another.
For electrically sensitive equipment such as computers, monitors, radios, etc., the second approach is considered a best practice.
Cold start exercises can help ensure electrical system restart “muscle memory” is gained by facility employees and users.
If your facility has a large number of “industrial type” electric motors, many of these have what is called a “cold start” electrical draw that is significantly higher than the electrical draw they require once they are operating. Being able to sequence the restart of these motors is essential to ensure the generator is not overloaded.
How long has the generator that provides the backup power to your facility been in place?
Has your facility undergone any upgrades that may impact the total electrical load the facility has now compared with the electrical load in place when the generator was installed?
Your facility’s electrical requirements may have remained the same, or they may have increased or decreased. Decreased requirements are seen especially if facility upgrades have replaced older “harder start” industrial electrical motors with “softer start” electrical motors that do not have as large an initial electrical draw requirement on startup.
Conducting a facility electrical review every three years is a good way to ensure your facility’s backup power requirements can be met.
If there is no statutory or other standard(s) that requires your facility to have a permanently installed backup power generator, there are still questions to be asked and answered.
What services does your facility provide?
How long can your business, your community, or your agency “survive” if those services are not available to you or the citizens?
If the estimated date for commercial power grid restoration is estimated to be several weeks away, what then?
This is the common situation most facility owners face after some disaster event has impacted the availability of electric power at their facility, be it some governmental agency owned “public” facility, or a privately owned facility or business.
Obtain an assessment of your facility to know what size and type of generator you might need following an outage to the electrical grid.
As part of that assessment, know what other materials will be required to physically connect that generator to your facility’s internal electrical system.
Investigate local vendors or elements in your government to determine what they may have available.
Remember, however, that generators will be in high demand once the electrical power grid suffers an outage.
A manual transfer switch can simplify the installation process immensely.
It allows the generator to be placed fairly close to the facility, minimizing the amount of electrical cabling required to connect the facility to the generator.
If a manual transfer switch is not present, typically the electrical cables have to be run for a greater length to connect the generator to a facility’s interior electrical panel.
When the transfer switch is switched to feed the facility’s electrical system from the generator, it will also disconnect the facility from the commercial power grid feed.
This ensures no electricity from the generator back feeds to the power grid endangering the lives of the line worker working to restore the damaged electrical distribution system.
This also protects the facility from any power surges from the commercial power grid as it is returned to operational status and re-energized.
If a manual transfer switch is not in place, the fusible links must be physically disconnected to isolate the facility from the commercial power grid so electricity will not backfeed to the electrical grid from the generator.
The personnel installing the generator may not have the correct tools or equipment to remove these fuses.
This could require utility company support to accomplish. They may not be readily able to support your need in a timely fashion as they are working to reestablish the overall electrical distribution system as rapidly as they can.
There are costs associated with installing a manual transfer switch, but the costs are significantly less expensive as compared to the costs of installing a generator. Keep in mind, manual transfer switches do not have the same operations and maintenance requirements as a generator.
The term microgrid can have a very different meaning depending upon how it is being used with respect to an electrical “system.”
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) basic definition of a microgrid is “A group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources with clearly defined electrical boundaries that acts as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid [and can] connect and disconnect from the grid to enable it to operate in both grid connected or island mode.”
Is your definition of the electrical “system” the facility itself? If so, then the microgrid could be that segment of the facility’s electrical system that receives electrical power from a generator. In some facilities, such as a hospital, that may be a smaller segment of the facility’s overall electrical system.
In many cases, the definition of the electrical “system” is a segment of the utility company’s distribution network. In that instance, the term microgrid refers to a segment of that distribution system that can be isolated from their overall distribution system and operated independently.
In terms of providing Temporary Emergency Power, the term microgrid refers to an electrical system allowing multiple facilities to be powered from a single larger generator versus installing multiple individual smaller generators at the facilities.
However, this is an option that requires advance planning and design. That system would have to be able to be isolated from the rest of the utility grid. A transformer would very likely be required to step the voltage output from the large generator up to match the voltage of the normal utility system. These types of transformers are not typically a readily available “off the shelf” item.
The Environmental Protection agency has recently posted information to their website related to increasing resiliency at the water and wastewater sector of facilities.
The Power for Patients Coalition is working to increase electrical power resiliency and restoration across facilities in their community of practice, both private and public.
A facility generator assessment is conducted to determine what size of generator is required to provide Temporary Emergency Power to the facility when the commercial power grid had been compromised.
Identifying materials required to connect the generator to the facility is part of this assessment.
Basic household electrical use and needs are fairly consistent across the United States. Commercial and industrial use and requirements are not.
Each facility’s internal electrical distribution system can vary widely.
The manner in which a local utility or co-op distributes electrical power to a facility as well as how the internal electrical distribution system of a facility was designed and constructed also impacts the type of generator that is required.
The requirements for a generator can vary widely from one facility to the next, even if both are in the same community. Conducting an assessment is the only way to know the specific requirements of an individual facility.
Why should assessments be conducted prior to an event?
Pre-event identification of the generator a facility will need and the materials required to install that generator makes the temporary emergency power process more efficient post-event.
It is strongly recommended that facilities managers conduct assessments before a generator is needed.
The worst time to conduct a facility assessment is after commercial power has already been compromised by an outage event.
Licensed electrical professionals should perform the assessment due to the technical expertise required. It is strongly recommended the following types of personnel are used to perform a facility assessment:
Licensed Journeyman or Master Electrician
Licensed Electrical Engineer
249th Engineering Battalion “Prime Power” Assessment Teams
Facility Operator
Many facility operators are very knowledgeable of the electrical operations and requirements of their facilities and may be able to perform an assessment. However, it is strongly recommended that a licensed electrical professional verify their assessment data.
One of the biggest considerations is the use of a facility during an event. It’s important to know if a facility will require all electrical components operational or only a portion of them. This will have a direct impact on the generator required.
Many facility operators want or need every electrical component of their system to operate, so their assessment is straightforward.
Many larger facilities such as hospitals and larger urban water and wastewater systems require large capacity electrical generators to provide full facility electrical power; some of these can be 5 megawatts or more.
Commercially available generators are readily available up to 2 megawatts, but very few are readily available above that size.
During the assessment, the electrical professional may need to determine if electrical loads can be split inside the facility to allow multiple generators to be installed and provide the full power load required.
If a facility only needs a smaller segment of its electrical system to be powered during a power outage, there are several considerations that should be addressed during the assessment.
Ensure there is a lock-out/tag-out procedure in place to turn off and leave off the circuit breakers that normally provide power to the now unused part of the facilities electrical system.
Ensure the facility occupants are aware of the situation so that they leave these breakers alone and turned off.
Many times the generator required to power the full facility electrical load is unavailable at the time of the outage so a smaller generator is installed. Parts of the facility are energized, but other parts are not. Facility tenants who may not have power can get upset and try to take matters into their own hands. They may turn on breakers that increase the facility electrical load which can overload the generator. This situation requires a delicate balancing act that the facilities manager should be aware of before he or she elects to partially power the facility.
The assessment shall list the name and physical address of the facility. It is strongly recommended the assessment include the facility’s Global Positioning System (GPS) Latitude and Longitude in degrees-minutes-seconds or in decimal degrees. It is also strongly recommended any decimal degree GPS data be captured and recorded to a value to the sixth point to the right of the decimal point.
The assessment shall indicate the intended use of the facility for post incident/event use.
The assessment shall indicate a Facility Point-of-Contact (POC). This POC should be a person who can actually allow the generator to be installed and provide a generator install crew access to the locations and components of the facility. Both land-line and cellular telephone numbers, as well as an email address shall be provided for the POC.
If an alternate POC at the facility is available, his/her information as listed above shall also be provided.
The assessment shall also determine if a single generator will be able to provide the required Temporary Emergency Power or if multiple generators will be required.
Assessment Essential Elements of Information (Continued)
The assessment shall also determine the location(s) at which the generator(s) will be physically connected to the facility’s electrical distribution system.
Shall the connection point be to an internally located electrical distribution location such as a single, or multiple, electrical panel(s)?
Shall the connection point be to an externally located electrical distribution point?
If so, what is the location of the panel(s)? This also needs to include the electrical grounding location(s).
If the facility is large, it is strongly recommended the GPS location of the actual site of the desired generator installation location be recorded as well so the installer can place the generator in the correct physical location.
One last extremely important item the assessment should list is the location of the fusible links that connect the facility to the commercial power system.
The generator installer, or the utility company itself, must disconnect those links before the generator is operational.
If not, when the generator is operational, it will back feed the commercial power system and endanger the safety and lives of the utility line worker working to restore the power grid.
Emergency Power Facility Assessment Tool, or EPFAT, is a website tool operated and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It contains facility assessment data from two primary sources:
Facilities assessed in previous disasters/exercises by the 249th Engineer Battalion “Prime Power” assessment teams from 2008-present.
Facility assessment data entered from 2013-present by existing facility owners.
It provides an off-site repository for this assessment data to be stored. Data is specific to a UserID and password. Only the person who entered the data for a facility can edit or change it. The website contains a “How To” guide that provides a hard copy form to record the required assessment data for the facility. Local, State, and Federal Emergency Management staff can also review the data.
If an event occurs which results in a Presidential Disaster Declaration, Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA)-provided generators can be used to power critical facilities. If a facility’s data is already on file, it eliminates the need for an assessment team from the 249th to travel to a facility and conduct an assessment. Instead, a generator will be dispatched based upon the data stored in EPFAT.
Should a more localized event occur, this data can allow local organizations to attempt to locate and obtain a generator that can fill the need.
If the outage causing event results in a Presidential Disaster Declaration, FEMA can provide generators to the event as requested by the State. FEMA maintains a total of 16 generator “power packs” at their four Continental United States (CONUS) Distribution Centers (DCs):
Atlanta, GA
Frederick, MD
Fort Worth, TX
Oakland, CA
Each DC maintains four of these power packs. The normal complement of each power pack is 30 generators.
The power packs also contain material and supplies (called BOM or Basic Order of Materials) needed to install the generators.
Should the event be of such a scope that additional generators are required, FEMA will provide additional generators leased/rented from the commercial market. This is also the case if generators are required for facilities which require larger generator sizes than the normal generator units in the FEMA inventory.
FEMA's overall inventory of 1 megawatt and larger generators is very small and most required generators in this size range are leased/rented from the commercial market.
The 249th Engineer Battalion can make a number of their organic unit generator units available for a Stafford Act declared disaster. However, these might have very limited overall facility use possibilities as the normal output for their units is 4160 volts. Most facilities would not accept this output voltage. In most cases normally hospitals are the primary users of 4160 volt power.
State National Guard units have provided their organic unit generators to support an impacted State’s needs, but in most cases, these generators are smaller than 40-60 kW. These can support some smaller facility needs, but not all potential identified needs.
Municipal and County Public Works Departments, some utilities, and other various “departments” in various levels of government in some locations may also be able to offer some limited support by providing generators, but most of these overall inventories are fairly low. They may be able to assist with some needs, but not all potential identified needs.
For a small event that FEMA is not supporting, the commercial market is normally the most likely and available location to obtain a generator.
If the generator is to come from a commercially available source, most organizations have applicable procurement processes requirements that must be followed. Many of these also have procedures for expedited procurement actions.
Most state Emergency Management Communities of Practice also maintain a resource request system/process that should be followed to request the generator from another internal agency/department. It may also be possible that using the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) process may be appropriate if the generator is from an out-of-state agency.
Some water and wastewater utility systems are part of the Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN). This may be the appropriate course of action to follow for that utility.
Use the applicable process that fits your situation.
If the event is part of a Stafford Act Disaster Declaration, the Emergency Management resource request process must be followed to elevate the request from the local level to the State level who, in turn, will provide to FEMA for Federal support to be provided. If this process is used, be sure to include the prioritization of the facility to receive a generator.
Under most circumstances these FEMA-supplied generators are installed by Emergency Support Function (ESF) #3, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, via the use of a United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) contractor.
Soldiers from the 249th Engineer Battalion “Prime Power” provide technical expertise and conduct facility assessments if there is not one on record.
The mission is a turnkey mission. USACE and their contractor prepare the generators for use, haul them to the facility locations, install them, fuel and service them until commercial power has been restored, de-install them and transport them back for event re-use or for shipment back to the FEMA DC when no unmet generator needs exist.
A facility generator assessment is conducted to determine what size of generator is required to provide Temporary Emergency Power to the facility when the commercial power grid had been compromised.
Identifying materials required to connect the generator to the facility is part of this assessment.
The initial assumption is that a power outage has occurred and the local government has identified a facility that must be operational. This facility may be providing live saving, life sustaining, or other support to the impacted community. An appropriate “priority level” should be assigned to assist in obtaining support for this unmet need.
Please note this process as follows is written assuming the Federal Government will eventually install the facility generator as part of a Stafford Act Disaster Declaration. However, in smaller scale events when FEMA is not deployed, or during events where the State has accepted the role to execute the Temporary Emergency Power requirements, the same process outlined herein should be followed by those executing the work in support of the unmet local requirements.
First: Does the facility’s generator assessment information reside in EPFAT or can those assessment requirements be determined?
Yes: Assign that task as appropriate and monitor progress.
No: Forward the request upward through the existing resource request process. In many cases this would be to the State level.
If your local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has a local electrical utility Emergency Support Function, or “ESF #12” representative on staff, determine if they have an anticipated power restoration timeline for that facility. That could negate the need for any further support.
Yes? Assign the task as appropriate, notify the sender of the status of their request, and monitor progress. The State EOC should have an ESF #12 representative from any major utility that provides electrical service in the impacted area. Determine if they can advise what the projected power restoration timeline is to that facility area. That may negate the need for any further action.
USACE enters the request in their process and determines if an existing assessment is on file for that facility. USACE personnel will also contact the facility Point of Contact to verify if the facility is safe to receive power. USACE personnel will also check with any ESF #12 representative, typically the Department of Energy (DOE), to determine if any power restoration timeline has been established for that facility area. That may negate the need for any subsequent action.
Does the facility assessment data exist and is the facility safe to receive power?
Yes: Assign a generator from inventory and task the USACE Contractor to install.
No: Assign a 249th Engineering Battalion “Prime Power” assessment team to perform an assessment and review the overall facility.
When the assessment data is obtained, USACE will assign a generator from the inventory and task the USACE contractor to install it. If a generator is currently not available in the inventory, USACE will request additional generators from FEMA.
The USACE contractor prepares the available generator for installation and loads it onto a hauling vehicle. The contractor also obtains the cabling and other materials required to connect the generator to the facility, a.k.a. the Basic Order of Materials (BOM), contacts the facility POC to give them notice the generator is coming, and hauls the generator and delivers to the facility.
The facility POC conducts a site visit with the installation crew.
The installation crew will disconnect the facility from the power grid, off load the generator at the facility, document the environmental conditions at the generator placement site prior to the generator being placed (i.e. no existing oil spills, etc.), and then install the generator.
As part of the installation process, the Facility POC should turn off all internal facility circuit breakers prior to the generator being started.
A generator’s electrical power output will typically experience a surge during the initial startup and will take a few minutes to stabilize its electrical power output. Damage to electrical equipment in the facility will most likely occur if the facility’s circuits are not all turned off prior to generator start up. Every facility should have a documented electrical system “cold start” process and follow it to the letter. This is true even after a power outage when a generator is not installed.
The facility POC signs a document indicating the receipt and the initial operation of the generator. From this point forward, until the generator is de-installed and removed from the facility, the facility POC assumes responsibility for the security of the generator.
The USACE contractor will then schedule daily refueling and daily quality assurance checks on that generator.
Pre-event roles and responsibilities: Local Government
Conduct pre-event identification of potential critical facilities in your area. Provide those lists to the County and State EOCs, as applicable.
Encourage/assist licensed electricians or other electrically technical and appropriate personnel to perform facility assessments. Ensure that data has been entered into the Emergency Power Facility Assessment Tool (EPFAT) database and appropriate local Emergency Management staff have reviewer account access into EPFAT.
Encourage/assist with procurement of generators at critical response-oriented facilities.
Encourage/assist with procurement and installation of manual transfer switches to ease generator installation requirements and reduce generator installation times.
Investigate potential availability of generators from other local government departments and the local commercial market.
Coordinate with local electrical utilities on their commercial power restoration plans. Try to ensure they initially concentrate on their repairs to infrastructure that feed the facilities that may become the most “critical” to your communities first.
Pre-event roles and responsibilities: State Government
Identify a lead State “Emergency Power Czar” POC at the State EOC.
Encourage and assist with any means to conduct pre-event identification of potential critical facilities and have that list available at the State EOC.
Encourage and assist with any means to have licensed electricians or other electrically qualified personnel perform assessments and ensure that data has been entered into EPFAT. Ensure the appropriate State EM staff have reviewer account access into EPFAT.
Encourage and assist with procurement of generators at critical response oriented facilities.
Ensure the maintenance of generator units occurs in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations.
Encourage and assist with procurement and installation of manual transfer switches to ease generator installation requirements and reduce generator installation times.
Pre-event roles and responsibilities: State Government (Continued)
Encourage/assist with/procure a State contract for generator procurement and installations. This could be crucial for non-Stafford Act events.
If National Guard units support the State in the execution of the Temporary Emergency Power mission, ensure training and exercise opportunities are incorporated into their respective annual training and exercise plans.
If the State intends to have FEMA/USACE execute the Temporary Emergency Power mission under a Stafford Act Presidential Disaster Declaration, provide a workspace in State EOC or a location within easy reach for USACE Temporary Emergency Power Action Officer staff (2 PAX) to operate in close proximity to the State “Power Czar.”
Pre-event roles and responsibilities: FEMA (Continued)
FEMA Regions promote EPFAT use at Regional Interagency Steering Committee (RISC) meetings to include:
State/Local pre-identification of critical facilities
State/Local conducted facility assessments
FEMA issues Pre-Declaration Mission Assignments to USACE for pre-positioning of emergency power mission resources prior to an event (primarily hurricanes and for some forecasted ice storms).
Pre-event roles and responsibilities: USACE (Continued)
Procure and administer Advance Contract Initiative (ACI) contracts to provide resources for turn-key physical execution of the mission. USACE’s ACI contractors perform:
Ensure any unmet generator requirements are forwarded upwards through the appropriate resource request process/system that jurisdiction and the State utilizes.
If an assessment of a facility does not exist in EPFAT, the resource request needs to include, at a minimum:
Name of facility
Event use of that facility
The priority for that facility to receive a generator
Event roles and responsibilities: Local Government
Have the State “Power Czar” at the State EOC.
Prioritize install requests before providing them to FEMA/USACE.
Ensure the required minimum facility information is on the request before providing it to FEMA/USACE
If resource availability impacts the numbers of generators available for the event, please communicate any overriding install priorities to the affected jurisdictions.
If a State elects to execute the Temporary Emergency Power requirements with internal assets, technical assistance is available from USACE.
Deliver generators and BOM boxes to appropriate Staging Area locations near the event vicinity (for no-notice events).
Transfer generators to executing entity, whether it be USACE or the State.
Issue Mission Assignment (Pre-Declaration or Post-Declaration) to USACE for the Temporary Emergency Power mission execution upon State request.
At the completion of the mission, FEMA Logistics accepts their generators back from the either USACE or the State and returns the generators to their respective storage location.
Receive Emergency Declaration or Presidential Disaster Declaration Mission Temporary Emergency Power Assignment.
Begin coordination of unmet power needs identified with FEMA and the State power POC.
Ensure facility priority and minimum facility information is submitted with the request from the State.
If an assessment is not required, i.e. the facility data already exists in EPFAT, initiate generator installation process and contact the facility POC.
If an assessment is required, task 249th element to assess the facility.
Execute the turn-key temporary emergency power mission. (Install - Refuel - Service - De-install Service)
Upon mission completion perform “Return To Storage” service on generators and return them to FEMA.
Provide hard and electronic copies of any facility assessments conducted during the mission to the State.
Department of Energy (ESF #12) Role in a Temporary Emergency Power Mission
An ESF #12 representative may actually be a staff member at multiple EOC levels depending upon the event and its impact on the commercial power supply. Sometimes, the representative is physically present at the EOC, and at other times, he or she will participate virtually via telephone.
The primary role of the ESF #12 representative at the most local EOC level is to report on status of the commercial power restoration, but they can also coordinate any specific commercial power infrastructure restoration requests from the EOC back to the utility. Most utilities have developed and coordinated restoration plans with local EMs. Many of these plans initially concentrate on commercial power infrastructure restorations which feed critical community facilities such as hospitals. After those critical segments have been restored, they typically concentrate on restoration of the transmission and distribution segments that serve the largest numbers of “customers,” i.e. electric meters, first.
Department of Energy (ESF #12) Role in a Temporary Emergency Power Mission (Continued)
One area that may impact a community is the electric grid segments that serve water and wastewater facilities. Many times these are on less populated areas that serve fewer customers. To ensure community recovery activities are not impacted significantly, restoration of commercial power to these areas may need to be closely coordinated with the ESF #12 representatives.
The extent of the event’s impacts on the electrical infrastructure can be quite varied and impact the eventual restoration of electrical power to the affected area. At times, commercial power restoration estimates can be conservative. Constant coordination with the ESF #12 representative is recommended. Tying up resources delivering a generator to a facility whose power is then restored within a few hours of the generator being installed is a waste of limited resources.
The ESF #12 representative(s) at the State EOC level are typically from the large electric utilities that serve the event impacted area of the State. They primarily report on their utility’s overall restoration progress, but can also assist with the coordination of any specific restoration request that may come to the State EOC.
The ESF #12 representatives that support FEMA are normally Department of Energy personnel. They report primarily on the overall impacts of the event on the power systems but also address other fuel resource issues. They utilize a web-based platform entitled “Eagle-I” that presents visually the outages across the entire impacted region, although primarily in CONUS areas only. They can also coordinate directly with a variety of utilities in the impacted area.
Many people do not have an awareness of the technical aspects of providing electrical power to a facility. They do not understand how the kilowatt (kW) output of a generator relates to where that generator might be able to be used.
A generator that has an output of 60 kW can only be used on a facility that has a maximum electrical load of 60 kW. The same thing applies to the output voltage of a generator. If the output voltage on a particular generator is 120/208 Volts (single phase), then that generator can only be used on a facility that has that voltage requirement due to the manner in which that particular facility’s internal electrical distribution system was designed and constructed.
Just because there may be a staging area that has 20 generators, it doesn’t mean that any 20 facilities can receive those generators. The generators may still be in the staging area because the facilities that are impacted may not be able to use those generators for an electrically technical reason.
The geographic impact area of the event compared to the location of the generator staging area is also an important factor when managing expectations. The lack of assessment data prior to an event also impacts the timing and delivery of services. The timeline can also be lengthened when access into the impacted area is restricted or roads are clogged with debris or fallen trees.
For example, during Hurricane Ike in 2008, the initial generator staging area was located near San Antonio, TX. The early forecast tracks of the hurricane had it moving westerly in the Gulf of Mexico and projected impact in the central southwest region of Texas. However, the storm shifted its track and instead impacted the Galveston and Beaumont areas of eastern Texas. As a result, it took the assessment and install crew an entire day to get from San Antonio to the Galveston/Houston/Beaumont area. That meant they could only install one (1) generator per day rather than 2-3 generators per day we expect when the travel distances are less than 100 miles from the staging area.
Of course, the number and type of generators available compared to the numbers of those that have been requested also impacts the timeline.
Larger urban areas typically demand larger kW output generators as compared to small rural areas. These are not as plentiful in the overall inventory, which can lead to resource shortages.
Once a generator has been installed and is operational, it will require refueling on a consistent basis.
Most FEMA inventory generators are equipped with “24-hour” fuel tanks. That means they are equipped with fuel tanks that allow them to operate for a 24-hour period, under a full generator load, before they will require refueling.
How much fuel does a generator require to operate? The rule of thumb that is used by the Corps of Engineers and the 249th Engineering Battalion is:
0.07 gallons/hour x kW size of the generator x 24 hours/day = gallons of fuel required per day
Example: 40 kW generator = 0.07 x 40 x 24 = 67.2 gallons per day
If a facility has a pre-existing generator installed, it may have a different sized fuel tank. Some are sized with fuel tanks to operate for longer, or shorter, than a 24-hour period. It’s important to know for what operational period the specific generator installed at a facility was sized and adjust the refueling schedule accordingly.
If the generator is installed by USACE, the USACE contractor is responsible for refueling the generator. The facility POC does not have to assume this requirement.
To ensure “safe” operating conditions, the generator will need to be shut off for the refueling to occur. This may cause an inconvenience to facility operations and will require the facility to execute their electrical system “cold start” procedures. However, no one’s safety and life, nor the facilities ability to support the activities it provides, is worth the risk to operate under unsafe conditions.
The manufacturer recommendations for operational generator service requirements are strictly followed for diesel-powered FEMA generators. These service requirements are universal regardless of the kW output size of the unit.
The standard service interval is 240 operational hours, i.e. 10-days of continued operations. The typical items serviced at this interval include, but may not be limited to per the specific manufacturers recommendations:
Change diesel engine oil.
Change diesel engine oil filter(s).
Change diesel engine fuel filter(s).
Change diesel engine air filter(s).
Check diesel engine coolant levels and replenish as required.
While the engine is turned off items such as the fan belts, etc., will be checked for any abnormal wear or damage.
If the generator is installed by USACE, the USACE contractor is responsible for performing all service requirements. The facility POC does not have to assume this requirement.
Again, the generator will need to be shut off for these service items to occur. This may cause an inconvenience to facility operations, but these service requirements must be followed to ensure long term operational capability of the generator. And once again, this will require the facility to execute their electrical system “cold start” procedures after the service has been completed and the generator is ready to become operational again.
Unfortunately, there may be some component(s) of the generator that fail while it is operational. In some cases, a replacement generator may be available, and if so, the failed generator will be replaced with an operational unit. The failed unit will then be transported back to the staging area for repairs.
Depending upon what component(s) may have failed, repairs to the failed unit may take place on site and the generator restarted. Again, it depends on the component(s) that may have failed and the availability of a replacement component.
Unfortunately, unlike a refueling or a generator servicing shut down period, this could impact facility operations for a much longer period of time. Once a replacement generator has been installed, or after the generator has been repaired and is ready to be made operational again, it will require the facility to execute their electrical system “cold start” procedures.
Once commercial power has been restored, most facility owners will be anxious to have the generator turned off and the facility connected back to commercial power.
Sometimes the local commercial power distribution system is repaired and is operational in the immediate area of the facility, but ongoing repair work to other segments of the power system may still cause intermittent power outages and the facility POC may elect to remain on generator power until they are satisfied that commercial power has stabilized.
Once de-installation of the generator has been agreed to, the utility company is contacted. Under most circumstance, the utility company prefers to reconnect the facility to their system. They also can inspect the entrance cable from their transformer/poles to the facility to ensure there is no damage, the electric meter and weather head is not damaged, and there is proper grounding.
Once the utility company is satisfied, the generator will be turned off and the facility will be connected back to the commercial power. Once again, the facility POC will need to ensure the “cold start” electrical system procedures are implemented and followed.
The generator will be removed from the facility. The de-installation crew will document the condition of the grounds around and under where the generator was placed to ensure no signs of oil, fuel, or coolant spills exist, as they are required to remediate any damages caused by the generator being placed, operated, and removed from that location.
These are contractual requirements the USACE ACI contractors must follow and adhere to. If a generator was installed by others, they will have to follow any agreements/arrangement/contract conditions that were established.
Depending upon the locality the generator was placed in, there may be some regulations for that locality that must be followed prior to hauling the generator off of the facility premises.
Fuel may need to be removed from the tank prior to hauling it on public road network. Understand the area of operation and ensure that the applicable rules and regulations are followed.
If the generator was furnished by a contract other than via USACE, then the rental or use agreement that generator was furnished under should indicate the generator return condition expectations/requirements.
Once the generator has returned to the staging area, it is either made ready for reuse in that event or it is made ready for return to the FEMA Distribution Center for storage.
Under most circumstances, the generator will undergo a very basic maintenance check and prepped for reuse at another facility during the same event.
All fuel is removed from the tank and an additive is put in the tank to retard mold/algae growth. That issue typically occurs in diesel fuel remnants which can cause fuel line and fuel filter clogs the next time the generator is operated.
A full generator service is also performed. This involves oil and oil filter changes, fuel and air filter changes, and coolant level check and replenishment as required.
All mechanical components are checked for correct operations.
FEMA may request a load bank be applied to the unit for a one-hour operational period to ensure all of the generator components are operating correctly.
Generator enclosure housings are checked for damages and panel doors are checked for correct operation.
Finally, the unit is pressure washed to ensure any spilled fuels, oil, etc. is removed and the unit is clean.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E – Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace.
NFPA 70E helps companies and employees avoid workplace injuries and fatalities due to shock, electrocution, arc flash, and arc blast, and assists in complying with OSHA 1910 Subpart S and OSHA 1926 Subpart K.
Provisions encompass safety-related work practices, safety-related maintenance requirements, and safety requirements for special equipment.
The Standard includes guidance for making hazard identification and risk assessments, selecting appropriate personal protection equipment, establishing an electrically safe work condition, and employee training.
The National Electric Code (NEC), also known as NFPA 70, has been adopted in all 50 states as the benchmark for safe electrical design, installation, and inspection to protect people and property from electrical hazards.
The NEC addresses the installation of electrical conductors, equipment, and raceways, signaling and communications conductors, equipment, and raceways, and optical fiber cables and raceways in commercial, residential, and industrial occupancies.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - 29 CFR 1910
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - 29 CFR 1910 General Industry Safety Standards
29 CFR 1910 addresses general safety and health standards in the workplace. These guidelines apply in most industries, unless an industry has more specific regulations.
According to OSHA, the term “general industry” refers "to all industries not included in agriculture, construction or maritime."
It is important to note that General Industry standards are often cited to address hazards in other industries. Many work activities related to generator installation, operations, and maintenance/service activities will be covered by this OSHA standard.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) - 29 CFR 1926 Construction Industry Safety Standards covers the regulations for construction industry. Some work activities related to generator installation may be covered by this standard.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) - The FMCSA develops various regulations that must be followed with respect to Cargo Securement, Hours of Service, and Medical considerations.
Other Federal, State or Local Regulations and Requirements - Various other governmental entities from Federal, State, County, and City or other local government may impose additional compliance requirements. Verify that you, your supporting agency, and/or your contractor are in compliance with any and all applicable safety and environmental requirements.
Ensure items on the following checklists are complied with during applicable phases of generator installation.
Develop an Activity Hazard Analysis or a Job Hazard Analysis that identify anticipated hazards and develop control measures will serve as a risk reduction tool.
Ensure these are reviewed by all affected participants for each activity to enhance compliance and safety awareness.
Ensure “tool box” safety meetings are conducted with all workers in attendance.