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Author
Chad Kennedy
manager, industry standards,
Schneider Electric, Hopkins,
S.C.,USA
chad.kennedy@schneiderelectric.com
Table 1
Types of Natural Disasters
Category
Geophysical
Meteorological
Hydrological
Climatological
AIST.org
Type of disaster
Earthquake, tsunami, volcanic eruption
Storm, lightning
Flood, mass movement
Extreme temperature, drought, forest fire
September 2014 67
Figure 1
in natures path, the impact of natural
disasters on sociey has become greater.
250
Figure 1 illustrates U.S. natural disasters
for the past 30 years. In some cases, the
200
increasing numbers can be attributed to
150
better technology to identify natural disasters.
However, climate changes are consid37
100
ered
to have a significant impact on natu8
50
ral
disaster
occurrences. For additional
51
information
on specific locations, U.S.
2
Federal Emergency Management Agency
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
(FEMA) publishes disaster and emergency
Geophysical events
Meteorological events
Hydrological events
Climatological events
(Earthquake, tsunami,
(Storm)
(Flood, mass movement)
(Extreme temperature,
declaration by year and state.
volcanic eruption)
drought, forest fire)
Natural disasters can damage electrical
distribution
equipment in several ways:
Natural disasters in the U.S., 19802011 (number of events, annual
fire,
vibration,
water, etc. In the U.S., the
totals 19802010 versus first six months 2011). Source: 2011 Munich
most
frequently
occurring events involve
Re. NatCatSERVICE.
water in the form of hurricanes and
storms, with subsequent flooding. Since
water and electricity do not mix, restoring power
Since the early 1990s, total economic losses from
to water-damaged equipment can be a dangerous
natural disasters in the United States have averaged
undertaking.
tens of billions of dollars per year.2 These disasters
cause death and injury, property damage, business
interruptions or downtime and loss of revenue. As an
example, in May 2010, Nashville, Tenn., experienced
Relevant Codes and Standards
an unprecedented flood, killing more than 30 people
and devastating property with more than US$2 bilNFPA 1600 is the overarching standard and primary
lion of damage. Two years later, some businesses had
document on disaster recovery, emergency managejust re-opened.
ment and business continuity. For workplace safety
Whether attributed to climate change, cyclical
and planning, OSHA references NFPA 70E: Standard
weather patterns or simply infrastructure being built
for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. In the 2013 ediition, NFPA 70B: Recommended Practice
for Electrical Equipment Maintenance
includes a chapter on electrical disasTable 2
ter recovery. In addition, the National
3
Electrical
Manufacturers Association
NEMA Guidelines for Water-Damaged Equipment
(NEMA)
has
published Evaluating
Must be replaced
May be reconditioned
Water-Damaged Electrical Equipment
Miniature and molded-case circuit
and Evaluating Fire- and Heat-Damaged
Switchboards
breakers
Electrical Equipment.
300
Multi-metering equipment
Switchgear
Safety switches
Load centers
Dry-type transformers
Medium-voltage switches
Busway
Panel boards
Liquid-filled transformers
Cast-resin transformers
AIST.org
Lessons Learned
1. An EEAP should provide details to understand
immediate actions, the sequence of engagement with recovery teams, spares available at
the facility or on the primary or secondary
market, and the financial impact to communicate to senior management.
2. To restore power as quickly as possible, identify critical electrical assets, the nearest available spares, rates and terms for both short- and
long-term requirements. For example, temporary 25-MVA transformers are hard to find
and, once located, lease for approximately
US$35,000 per month (excluding delivery
charges). In addition, lead times on new
replacement equipment can take months.
3. Outside resources may be required to help
manage power restoration, should another
disaster occur. Partner with organizations that
have the qualifications, resources and experience to handle the job. Items such as prenegotiated commercial terms and conditions,
defined scope of work, equipment pricing,
lead times, availability, and service agreements
streamline the power restoration process.
Figure 2
Monday, 3 May
12 a.m.
Metropolitan police ordered a mandatory evacuation in downtown, which
left data center operations and security
vulnerable.
4:30 a.m.
Selected personnel were allowed back
into downtown to perform key operations, including refueling of generators. Although rain had stopped, the
Cumberland River was steadily rising.
10 a.m.
A decision was made to start soft
shutdown actions, but it was too late.
Generators flooded, which began a
31-hour data center outage. Through a
key relationship, a temporary generator
was located 20 miles south of the city.
Tuesday, 4 May
4:30 p.m. The data center was brought back on-line.
Wednesday, 5 May
Still with no lights, air conditioning or restroom
facilities, a 24-hour staff rotation was set up to monitor
the data center and the condition of the temporary
generator. The water level was still too high to assess
damage to the buildings generator.
Thursday, 6 May
The buildings generator was drained, and the damage was assessed. Spare parts were not immediately
available. Five days later, the generator was repaired
and power switched back to the building generator.
However, the temporary generator was retained as a
backup for a few additional weeks.
Thursday, 13 May
Nashville Electric Services (NES) restored power to
downtown Nashville, and the building switched from
generator to municipal power.
Lessons Learned Three key lessons were learned
from the aftermath of this historical flood.
1. Determine Priorities: The EEAP plan must
have a clear definition of what constitutes an
emergency and when to execute the EEAP.
In this case, only three hours were available
before a mandatory evacuation order was
issued. Prioritizing critical functions is essential to efficiently and safety restoring power.
2. Emergency Service Contracts: Searching for
temporary equipment after a disaster occurs
slows down the power restoration process
and can be very expensive. The EEAP should
include emergency service contracts to guarantee disaster recovery team response time,
AIST.org
Key Learning
3 hours before
mandatory evacuation
EAP Priorities
31 hours of data
center downtime
Emergency
Service Contracts
5 days to bring back
building generator
Critical Spare
Parts
Event impact and electrical emergency action plan areas.
Conclusion
When a natural disaster strikes, its impact on individuals, communities and businesses can be devastating.
Restoring electrical power is a crucial part of the
recovery process. Regardless of the industry or facility type, having a detailed ESWP and EEAP can help
recovery efforts. Multiple standards exist from OSHA,
NFPA and NEMA to serve as a guide for businesses
to help them understand and develop a contingency
plan in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
References
1. ServePro, http://www.servpro.com/ready.
2. Managing the Escalating Risks of Natural Catastrophes in the
United States, Lloyds Insurance Report, October 2011.
3. Evaluating Water-Damanged Electrical Equipment, National
Electrical Manufacturers Association, 2011.
F
To nominate this paper for the AIST Hunt-Kelly Outstanding Paper Award, visit AIST.org/huntkelly.
This paper was presented at AISTech 2013 The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., and published in the Conference Proceedings.