The following opinion piece first appeared in the Hartford Courant. It is reposted here with the permission of the authors.
Roads turned into rivers, trees toppled, homes decimated, and millions plunged into darkness in the heat of the summer.
The wrath of Hurricane Beryl left the city of Houston devastated, waterlogged and undertaking a recovery process that’s all too familiar in 2024—only this time, it’s happening much earlier than usual.
Beryl’s deadly and destructive arrival on the Gulf Coast came about two months before the heart of hurricane season, and climate experts caution there are more worrying firsts that Beryl forewarns, including a rapid ramp-up to the earliest category five Atlantic hurricane on record.
If Beryl serves as a potential omen of what’s to come this hurricane season, the next catastrophic storm could form anytime, anywhere—offering a stark reminder that utilities must always be ready to respond, and they can’t do it alone or without cost.
When disaster strikes, the task of speedy restoration is so monumental that outside help is needed.
Response Network
The cavalry comes in the form of the industry’s auxiliary crew network—a critical system that connects hundreds of utilities and contract crew workforces across the U.S. and Canada.
When called upon, this network supplements the highly skilled workforces that companies like Eversource and United Illuminating have on-site, providing trained restoration workers and specialized equipment to help speed restoration.
The auxiliary crew system is a cornerstone of electric utility operations during emergencies, when every passing minute means another that customers are in the dark, without air conditioning or heat in the extremes of summer and winter, or without access to life-saving medical devices that only run on electricity.
The auxiliary crew system is a cornerstone of electric utility operations during emergencies.
Mobilization of external crew resources is fundamental to restoring power as safely and quickly as possible but comes at a price.
Restoration speed depends on the number of trouble spots caused by the storm and the number of crews available to address those trouble spots.
It’s a simple equation—more crews mean quicker restoration and greater cost.
Costs
When time is of the essence, electric utilities are called upon to cover the substantial up-front costs of mobilizing crews and other resources to restore power and rebuild the electric system—which is a painstaking, time-consuming process that involves thousands of workers as well as materials, safety equipment, vehicles, fuel, food, and lodging.
This cost can easily total tens of millions and up to hundreds of millions dollars per storm, even for storms that don’t cause damage as severe as forecasted with newer regulations that require Eversource and UI to bring in crews in advance of the event—just in case. Eventually the bill comes due.
The impacts of climate change are undeniably increasing the frequency and intensity of storms throughout the year.
While other New England states have recognized that customers are better off with a systematic “pay as you go” process, this is not the case in Connecticut.
As customers depend on the availability of reliable electricity for their daily lives, expectations are high for short restorations, inevitably generating associated costs that accumulate quickly for customers.
While other New England states have recognized that customers are better off with a systematic “pay as you go” process, this is not the case in Connecticut, where cost review is pushed off to the future with additional carrying costs.
Without action by Connecticut regulators to process costs in a timely and predictable manner, there is a negative impact to customers, as well as to the financial health of utilities that are called on to provide safe, reliable service across the entire year.
Regulatory Framework
When regulators are willing to stockpile restoration costs, the burden for customers swells, sending a signal to the investment community that there is heightened risk for cost recovery.
In financial markets, increased risk results in only one thing—higher cost for critical capital resources and ultimately, for customers.
When regulators are willing to stockpile restoration costs, the burden for customers swells.
Ensuring safety and reliability during hurricane season and year-round isn’t a one-person job. It takes close collaboration and coordination between utilities, regulators, emergency management, public safety officials, first responders, and community leaders.
We’re constantly refining our planning and emergency response processes to execute the best possible storm response for our customers.
We look forward to building on our partnerships in the state, as well as continued discussions about the appropriate regulatory framework that will enable the level of storm preparedness and response that Connecticut families and businesses both deserve and expect.
About the authors: Steve Sullivan is Eversource Electric Operations president and Chris DiPentima is president and CEO of CBIA.