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Meet a few of the team members who respond when the community needs them most
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In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, many of our employees have a storm role – a unique position to pivot to when severe weather strikes.
When the threat of severe weather is forecasted in the areas we serve, we stand ready. In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, many of our employees have a storm role – a unique position to pivot to when severe weather strikes.
From going into communities and neighborhoods to evaluate damage to ensuring crews have a safe place to rest their heads at night after long days of grueling work, each storm role is unique and important to supporting our efforts to get the lights back on. And we all work together to ensure the safety of our employees, customers, and communities.
During these times, the scale and dedication of our organization become apparent. Various teams throughout the company share a common mission – to restore power as efficiently and safely as possible while keeping our customers informed.
Meet a few of our team members who are ready to step up when the community needs them the most.
In 2019, Hurricane Dorian passed just off the South Carolina coast as a category 3 hurricane, eventually making landfall around Cape Hatteras. I was dispatched to Hollywood crew quarters, just south of Charleston, South Carolina, to lead a restoration effort with a contingent of company crews and on-system contract crews.
After two long, chaotic days of restoration efforts, the restoration crews started filtering back to the crew quarters for dinner that evening. Everyone was hot, sweaty, and tired. But as we sat down to eat, there was a calmness about the group. We all started sharing stories of what and who we encountered in those past two days. The laughter and comradery that resonated through the group is the part I will never forget. That is when I knew the tide had turned, our efforts were not in vain, and soon we would complete our goal.
Honestly, it is the inherent chaos in the work. We track these storms for days, make all the necessary preparations, and scrutinize every detail of our plan. No matter how much we plan, in the thick of the storm there is always a curve ball thrown our way.
Being able to think on your own feet and quickly leverage the resources you have on hand to handle those situations is the part I like best. Every storm is different, and after each, I have gained something to apply to the next storm event.
Crews usually do not arrive at their assigned hotels until later parts of the evening after restoration work is completed. So, we must be available if there are questions or issues that arise during check-in. What keeps us motivated is knowing that our crews receive a clean, warm bed to sleep in after all the effort they exhaust to get our lights back on. Many of us continue working while our own lights are out at home – it is truly a One Dominion team effort.
In February 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic, an ice storm slammed the Southside offices of the Central region. This was my first event in the role of logistics lead with and for the first time many restoration duties were being performed virtually.
Room availability is always challenging, and with hundreds of contracting resources coming to help with outages, we had to find rooms in distant locations like North Carolina and Roanoke, Virginia.
My team and I have responsibility for coordination of all the staging sites for off-system crews in South Carolina (SC). We coordinate with the storm logistics team to ensure the sites are ready when the crews arrive and with local authorities and our security team to make sure the crews, trucks and additional resources , once on site, stay safe.
Once we know a storm is imminent, my leadership team handles the staging sites and I transition to be a Dominion Energy representative at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD). We typically have a representative in the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) at the SCEMD headquarters 24 hours a day for major storms. While there, we coordinate with the SC Office or Regulatory Staff (ORS), other utilities, and various state agencies to address questions, needs, and concerns as it relates to the storm.
Hurricane Dorian developed early in the season of 2019 and within a few days was a major category 5 hurricane with a projected path right at coastal South Carolina. Two weeks prior to Dorian’s impact, I was appointed as the head of the two main staging sites. One site is a former NASCAR racetrack and the other is a decommissioned coal-fired plant (Canady's Station) in a small, rural town in the Lowcountry of SC. This was my first storm as a staging site coordinator. I staged over 100 crews and over 400 lineworkers and tree specialists at the site. They came from as close as North Carolina and Georgia, and from as far away as Oklahoma and southern Texas.
Storm preparation and response is inevitable, but an important part of what we do. We are a 24/7, 365 business. We prepare the best we can prior to storm season and prior to any specific storm. However, they are all different, and we must adapt and respond quickly to challenges that each storm presents. I enjoy feeling like I am a vital part in the process – it is a process, and it takes many people to pull it off successfully.
I enjoy the camaraderie that I have with our teams and passing along knowledge to help others in future storm events. They now know what to do, who to call, and what they need with little intervention from me, which is a very gratifying feeling.
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