Summary of Cigre Disaster Response article for Electra
A Cigre Framework for Disaster Response
Knowledge, Insights and Identification of Future Areas of Work
C1 Phil Southwell (Australia)
Abstract
150 word summary
Summary of Cigre Disaster Response article for Electra
Introduction




Responding to major disasters is a challenge which many Cigre members
probably dread, but could experience during their working lives
Many areas of Cigre’s work consider an aspect of a disaster, i.e. SC C2 System
Operation and Control (Management of disturbance and restoration situations),
but these are often a specific sub-component rather than the entire spectrum of the
disaster response
This article will use existing Cigre work, related to disasters, to prepare a strategic
overview, as well as propose a new framework for approaching disaster recovery
Based on a high-level, strategic overview of disasters, a gap analysis of Cigre
activities will be conducted to identify future areas of work
Terminology and Definitions


Depending on culture and official terminology a disaster may be referred to as a
crisis, or catastrophic incident which can cause serious phsical damages to the
energy system.
This paper will use disaster to describe all of the above terms
Context of a Disaster








Numerous global examples of disasters exist, but the frequencies in specific
locations are extremely limited.
These events are referred to as once in a hundred or thousand year incident or as a
freak occurrence.
As disasters have an impact well beyond normal incidents and interruptions, it is
difficult for utility operators and management to be trained to respond to such a
scenario
Often senior management (while in their executive roles) will only experience a
single disaster
Many informal mechanisms exist which disseminate learnings across countries
between similar electricity utility sectors and from other industries
Once a disaster begins, unless a strategic approach is already in place, there will
be a narrow focus on immediate post-disaster actions.
A strategic approach will assist the medium and longer-term responses and give
management a framework to apply lessons from previous disasters
Communication during disasters is a key point
Summary of Cigre Disaster Response article for Electra
Case Studies
A selection of case studies will be used to illustrate the variety of disasters and the
lessons from selected examples. This will include, but is not limited to:
 Brazil: generation shortfall
 Spain: Cyclone Klaus
 Japan: tsunami
 maybe we can consider the tripping of lines after avalanches / icing i.e. in Canada
A New Framework
To assist future Cigre work a broader framework of a disaster, from the initial hours
following the incident to years (or perhaps a decade afterwards), will be created. Its basic
outline is as follows:
Immediate post-disaster
Plan
Recover
(short-term)
(medium-term)
(long-term)
Matters to be considered include:
 Techniques to manage disasters and then restoration
 Communication
 Societal security and incident management; ISO/PAS 22399
 Planning in advance: resilience to natural hazards: UK National Grid
Existing Cigre Work

A review of e-Cigre alongside an email to SC chairs will help map the current and
planned Cigre work in this area
A Road Map for Cigre

Future work priorities of Cigre will be identified, using the framework which
incorporates existing Cigre work