Westar Energy
Emergency Preparedness
and Restoration
TFR Meeting
June 26, 2012
Jim Tyler
Director, Distribution Services
Presentation Topics
Storm Restoration Manual
Crisis Center
Storm Agreements
Mutual Assistance
Other preparedness plans
Westar’s Storm Restoration Manual
Roles & Responsibilities
Crew Comfort
External Resources
Division Information
Safety/Emergency Information
Storm Restoration Crews
Storm Restoration Crews
Duty Roster Database
Crisis Center – Topeka General Office, 5th Floor
CRISIS MANAGER
Direct overall restoration effort
Activate Crisis Center and team
Develop and initiate restoration plan
Promote restoration in a safe manner
Provide support for timely restoration of service
Utilize Zone/Area concept and staging areas if needed
Obtain adequate manpower and equipment
Call in appropriate support group assistance
Stay informed of all major outages, transmission and distribution circuits
Monitor weather conditions
Communicate with System Operating Authority
Generate status/progress reports
Customer Action Center as appropriate
 Senior management team
 Inform Corporate Communications and media
Develop plan for manpower and equipment reductions
Insure the proper storm accounting guidelines are followed
RESTORATION PRIORITIZATION
Transmission System
One transmission source must be established and restored into each
substation - generally one that will take the shortest amount of time to
restore and still be able to handle the load of the substation.
If it becomes necessary to restore a transmission line that will not handle
the total load of a substation, use rotating blackout techniques.
Distribution System
Distribution repair should be handled in the following order:
1. Remove or eliminate all public hazards
2. Restore service to essential and life support customers
3. Restore all main feeder circuits
4. Restore laterals
5. Refuse transformers and repair secondary conductors
6. Repair services
7. Repair street light circuits
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Coordination of all Westar communication to support the Crisis Center,
Field Operations and support for efficient customer restoration including:
1. Phone
2. Lan/WiFi
3. Fiber
4. In-truck terminals
5. Cell service
6. Computers
7. Printers
8. Plotters
C&I ACCOUNT MANAGERS
Coordination of all communication with Westar’s top 1000 customers
Transfer 800 numbers to Crisis Center for up to date status/response
Information conduit for County/City officials as needed
Communication with wholesale customers impacted by event
Provide other Crisis Center support as needed
SUPPORT 1
Administrative and clerical support for Crisis Manager
Coordinate any needs of Crisis Center
Provide support to Crew Coordinator for crew/contractor management
Coordinate requests for changes in procurement limits as needed
Provide other Crisis Center support as needed
CREW COORDINATOR
Obtain adequate manpower and equipment for efficient and safe restoration
Coordinate current contractors on Westar property
Secure additional contractor resources as needed per storm agreement
 Verify insurance information on file
 Request crew complement and makeup with associated equipment
 Request specialized equipment if needed
 Determine estimated time of arrival
 Coordinate logistics with Field Operations for show up location
Secure additional resources from neighboring utilities unaffected by storm through Midwest Mutual
Assistance
Monitor assistance needs throughout storm and adjust manpower and equipment levels appropriately
Coordinate with Crew Comfort staff to ensure adequate lodging and meal arrangements
Coordinate entry of resources and equipment in Storm Restoration database
Coordinate distribution of Storm Restoration manuals and safety briefing to all off property assistance
Coordinate relocation and release of contractor and mutual assistance crews
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
Determine initial and ongoing assessment of damage to Westar assets
Compile an initial "broad brush" damage assessment from all affected areas
Establish communications with the Field Operations personnel for coordination
of assessment
Create high level material summary depending upon extent of damage
Gather field information for priorities based on assessment and coordinate with
Restoration Prioritization personnel
SUPPORT 2
Additional administrative and clerical support for Crisis Center if needed
Coordinate and support any needs of Crisis Center teams
MATERIAL COORDINATION
Direct and secure all materials needed for timely restoration of Westar assets
Work with vendors as needed for shipments of materials
Provide adequate material handlers to distribute materials to needed areas
Coordinate with Crisis Center teams for changing conditions and type of
damage found
TRANSMISSION
Coordinate restoration of all transmission lines on Westar property
Request additional contractor resources as needed to support restoration
Communicate with System Operating Authority on system availability and
coordination of clearances
Communication hub with construction supervisors providing oversight over
contractor crews restoring transmission facilities
STATE EOC
Communication hub from Crisis Center to State/County agencies on
restoration
Provide current information on any state level support or needs
Coordinate timing of restoration for possible temporary power requirements
with generators
MEDIA RELATIONS
Coordinate all communications to the media
Work with any Kansas agencies as needed on status or restoration
Provide employees with interim updates on restoration efforts
CREW COMFORT
Coordinate all needs of Westar, contractor and mutual assistance crews during
the event
Work with local Field Operations teams to provide adequate crew comfort for
crews working in the field
Coordinate and secure hotel rooms as needed for crews
Coordinate restaurant availability or catering for morning & evening meals
Setup and manage invoice coding for contractor & mutual assistance crews
Establish correct time ticket coding for Westar crews
Establish laundry service for crews if needed – long duration event
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
Coordinate and secure all vegetation crews in support of restoration
Work with Crisis Center coordinators on location and priority work
Work with Field Operations personnel on priorities for tree clearing/disposal
Crisis Center Communication/Update
Outage Management Data
Crisis Monitor
Priorities for Restoration of Customers
Remove or eliminate all public hazards
Restore service to essential and life support customers
Restore all main feeder circuits
Restore laterals
Refuse transformers and repair secondary conductors
Repair/reconnect services
Repair street light circuits
Coordination with KDEM on critical customers
Storm Agreements with Contractors
27 contractors in 21 states
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21 companies are union
6 companies are non-union
Storm agreement covers the following:
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Labor rates
Equipments rates
Insurance forms/information
Mutual Assistance
Edison Electric Institute member companies have
established and implemented an effective system
whereby member companies may receive and
provide assistance in the form of personnel and
equipment to aid in restoring and/or maintaining
electric utility service when such service has been
disrupted by acts of the elements, equipment
malfunctions, accidents, sabotage, or any other
occurrence for which emergency assistance is
deemed necessary or advisable.
Mutual Assistance – Storm Restoration
Manual
Participating Utility Companies
Emergency Storm Restoration Manual
For contractors or mutual
assistance utilities working
on Westar property
Safety video and review of
manual are covered prior to
crews beginning work
Emergency Storm Restoration Manual
Other Preparedness Plans
Load Shed Plan
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Written plan for an orderly implementation of manual load
reduction or by use of related under frequency equipment
Adverse conditions or disturbances on the Westar electric system
or any other system directly or indirectly related with the Westar
electric system
Provides for operator initiated interruption of the delivery of
electricity in order to avoid damage to the system and prevent a
complete outage to the system and customers
Black Start Plan

Process of restoring generation and network without relying on any
external electric power transmission network
Pandemic
Questions?