EnergySolutions : Manchester Emergency Response Leaders Attend Eversource “Outage School”

Officials and first responders from the City of Manchester joined us recently for "Outage School," a unique safety training opportunity that covered the operation of our electric system, how we manage restoration efforts during widespread power outages, and how we communicate during significant storm. Additionally, the group took a tour of the company's Integrated System Operations Center (SOC) and Incident Command Center (ICC).

"It was a good opportunity to give an overview of what we do during a storm to restore power to customers and share the new technology we're using to reduce the frequency and duration of outages," said Manager of Emergency Preparedness Dean Desautels. "The group was interested to observe information coming into our SOC following a car crash involving a utility pole during the tour. They had a chance to see how a disruption on the electric system can instantly alert our team to an emergency situation they might also be called to respond to."

Desautels led a discussion on staying safe on the scene where there are downed power lines and the types of hazards they pose; while Manager of Regional Operations Karl Douglas and Manager of Distribution System Operations Don Nourse detailed the steps the company takes before, during, and after a storm to keep power flowing to homes and businesses safely and reliably.

"The presentation Eversource provided to us today, was invaluable," said Capt. Kevin Healey, emergency management coordinator for the Manchester Fire Department. "Local partners, like Eversource, are helping us to achieve our goal of enhancing the city's coordinated response effort to disasters. We have worked very closely with Eversource to improve communication, critical infrastructure, and emergency response efforts. This presentation and training is just another benefit of this partnership."