Category:Energy Type: News Source: US Department of Energy Date: Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC - The D.O.E. (DOE) today outlined a number of steps that the Department is taking to strengthen its hurricane response system in the United States. Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, D.O.E. has made operational and administrative improvements, including coordination between federal, state and local leaders, deployment of trained staff, and enhancements to modeling tools.
"Bringing power back online is a critical step in recovering and rebuilding from a disaster and the D.O.E. stands ready to help coordinate fuel delivery to affected areas and remove barriers in energy recovery efforts," Alex de Alvarez, D.O.E. Deputy Director of the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability for Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration said.
To further prepare, DOE's hurricane response system has:
Conducted regional exercises to help further prepare state and local government staff in the case of emergencies;
Hired 7 new staff specifically to support the energy emergency function under the Countrywide Response Plan;
Trained over 50 technical and emergency response staff that will be accessible to deploy to an affected region and embed in other federal responding agencies such as Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). D.O.E. has also assigned coordinators to all FEMA regions.
Instituted a "helpline" for the 2007 hurricane season to allow state/local governments and industry to communicate with D.O.E. during emergencies;
Enhanced DOE's modeling, analytical, and visualization capabilities by working with Countrywide laboratories, and industry;
Increased coordination with federal agencies such as DHS/FEMA, MMS, DOT, FERC, and E.P.A. to further enhance federal interagency coordination response for energy emergencies.
In 2006, D.O.E. assisted in recovery efforts from Hurricane Ernesto's pass through Florida and North Carolina in August. In 2005, D.O.E. deployed emergency response experts to the Gulf region and had dozens of other individuals working on the hurricane response from D.O.E. headquarters in Washington, DC. Led by the DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, the Department coordinated with other federal agencies, state and local government leaders, and industry to overcome obstacles and bring power back online and bring fuel to affected regions of the country. At President Bush's direction, the Department made crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve accessible for loan and sale to oil refiners to help maintain gasoline supply for the nation. Additionally, D.O.E. ensured that high-sulfur #2 diesel was provided to utility pole companies so that poles would be ready for installation as soon as the storms passed.
User Comments
There are currently no comments for this story. Be the first to add a comment! Click here to add a comment about this story.
Related Pages
Secretary Chu Declares Over $110 Million in SunShot Plans to Advance Solar Photovoltaic Manufacturing in the U.S. ... processes throughout the United States. The Department's SunShot Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships will help the solar power industry ... plans will create organizations designed to bring PV companies together in a coordinated environment to address common ...
Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Forum ... talking with foreign energy ministers, leaders in industry, members of Congress, state and local officials and ordinary citizens about ... about it. And when it says "United States Secretary of Energy" on your business card, like it does on mine, the person ...
New Frontiers in Energy Summit ... for the 1st 3 large-scale carbon sequestration plans in the United States, which will conduct large volume tests for the ... that dramatically reduces proliferation risks and responsibly manages waste, and this includes moving the Yucca Mountain repository to ...
North Carolina State University ... acknowledged 2 fundamental truths first, that in order to maintain the United States' economic preeminence in an increasingly competitive ... researchers with local businesses and utilities and is supported by federal funds. I hope it will serve as a model ...
E.P.A. Partners With BestBuy to Recycle Electronics as Part of Ongoing Hurricane Katrina Cleanup Efforts ... . Best Buy will accept any make or model of computer and related equipment, including computers, monitors, printers, ... electronic waste generated by Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Coast," said Jimmy Palmer, E.P.A. Regional Administrator in Atlanta. " ...
E.P.A. and Best Buy To Recycle Electronic Equipment Destroyed by Hurricane Katrina ... computers and other electronic equipment destroyed by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. On Saturday, March 4, consumers in the Jackson County, ... Best Buy will accept any make or model of computer and related equipment, including computers, monitors, printers ...
EPA, D.O.E. Declare New Steps to Strengthen Energy Star WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. (EPA) and the D.O.E. (DOE) today outlined a series of steps to further strengthen the trusted Energy Star ... a consent decree with Haier on 4 of its freezer models - including 2 Energy Star models - that were consuming more energy than ...
Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology Hosts Urban Meteorology Forum ... urban areas." Damages averaging in excess of $11 billion occur from hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other severe weather each ... . Speakers and attendees at the forum represent a number of federal, state and local agencies, as well as broadcast media, ...
Obama Administration Declares Additional $16,956,700 for Local Energy Efficiency Enhancements in Idaho ... around the country," said Vice President Biden. "Local leaders will have the flexibility in how they put these ... $128,000 In addition, today's announcement includes Backing for the following Tribal governments in the state: Idaho Kootenai ...
D.O.E. Prepares for the North Atlantic Hurricane Season ... , state, and local leaders in a number of ways, including: training an additional 30 employees for emergency ... working on the hurricane response from D.O.E. headquarters in Washington, D.C. D.O.E. coordinated with other federal agencies, state and local ...
Green Tips
Avoid products that are packaged for single use (i.e., drinks, school lunches, candy, cat and dog food, salad mixings, etc.). Instead, buy in bulk and transfer the products to your own reusable containers.
Featured Report
Nuclear Testing by Country
View a comparitve chart showing which countries have performed the most nuclear tests
UVM commits $13M to green energy projects BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - The University of Vermont is committing itself to spending $13 million to establish a revolving fund to finance on-campus energy efficiency projects. With the commitment made by UVM's Board of Trustees last weekend, the school is ...CES Show Gets Green Energy The link between communications technology developments and energy research continues to grow stronger, and the efforts of CES organizers to demonstrate their energy efficiency and cleantech credentials further underlines the trend.State of the Union Energy and Environment Twitter Chat at #ecoSOTU It is unclear how big of a role issues like energy, environment and climate change will play in the 2012 State of the Union, but given recent events like the decision to deny the Keystone XL oil pipeline as well as the clean energy focus of Obama's ...
