On April 14, 2008, more than 50 people from OEM and Con Edison gathered in the City’s Emergency Operations Center at OEM headquarters to take part in a power outage response workshop. The participants were mostly Con Edison employees assigned to one of three teams: Customer Assessment Teams (CAT); Power Outage Response Team (PORT) liaisons; and Customer Count Teams (CCTs). 

The scenario: In the early afternoon of a 95-degree day in Forrest Hills, Queens, Con Edison receives numerous calls from private apartments and a public school about power failures in the area. The Fire Department also registers smoking manholes in the same area. 

The exercise: Drill participants activated the PORT and CAT protocols. The CATs surveyed the area and confirmed the boundaries of the outage by talking to customers on the ground. The CCTs analyzed information from the field along with census data to gather information about seniors, home-bound residents, and individuals on life-sustaining equipment. The PORT liaisons worked with OEM responders to share information and instructions. 

OEM’s exercise controllers added complications to the scenario throughout the drill, forcing participants to react as they would have to during a real incident. An emergency building evacuation due to rising carbon monoxide levels and a thunderstorm, forced players to organize protection for the evacuated buildings and a shelter for displaced residents, in addition to restoring power to the area. 

The new Con Edison positions tested in the workshop were created after the extended power outage in Long Island City in August 2006 as part of an effort between the City and Con Edison to better manage power failures. During widespread outages, CATs, CCTs, and PORT liaisons forgo their normal engineering and support staff roles at Con Edison and focus exclusively on their roles in the response. Even members who have not received a specific assignment remain on 24-hour standby.