PRESS RELEASE
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) recently staged a simulated large-scale emergency to measure the Co-op’s ability to handle massive storms and other crises. This was the second such event held by the Cooperative.
The federal USDA Rural Development’s Utilities Program requires electric cooperatives to keep written Emergency Response Plans for dealing with events that pose risks to the utilities. Along with natural events such as hurricanes or ice storms, these emergencies include fires, terrorist attacks, cyber attacks, and pandemics. SMECO must demonstrate our preparedness for these crises and how we would begin restoring our damaged electric and telecommunications systems.
Following last year’s drill, SMECO revised its emergency plan and installed backup facilities for operations and communications. The Cooperative designed this year’s drill to test the effectiveness of those changes.
The event featured a tabletop exercise where more than 50 employees responded to a simulated storm emergency. Along with widespread outages in SMECO’s service area, the simulation included lightning strikes that damaged offices and communications equipment.
“The simulated emergencies in this year’s exercise were realistic and challenging, and the event fulfilled all of our objectives,” said Dave Viar, security program manager for SMECO. “Our employees were very involved and serious in their responses to the simulated emergencies. One purpose for conducting the drill was to identify areas for improvement, and by that standard we consider the exercise a success.”
The drill also included simulated injuries to employees from the lightning and from work accidents. To increase the realism of the drill, the Cooperative arranged for the Hughesville and Mechanicsville volunteer rescue squads to administer simulated first aid for the injuries. Employees from the St. Mary’s County Department of Public Safety participated in portions of the drill.
“I was very pleased that SMECO asked for the Department of Public Safety in St. Mary's County to be a part of the Cooperative’s emergency disaster drill,” said David Zylak, St. Mary’s County director of public safety. “It gave our employees an opportunity to interact with SMECO employees and discuss strategies and responsibilities during emergency situations. I'm always glad when other agencies conduct drills to prepare for emergencies. It provides an opportunity to discover strengths and weakness and improve the overall operation. Thanks to SMECO for making us a part of its drill.”