Many Utilities are struggling with the challenges of hardening their systems against the increasingly destructive powers of intense weather while tackling ever-increasing customer and regulatory performance expectations. Current storm-hardening programs typically trend toward two general areas: enhancing distribution systems and protecting substations against flooding.

While distribution enhancements and selective undergrounding represent the initial stage of storm-hardening programs, they also represent limited high-gain/“low hanging fruit” opportunities that are an obvious starting point for two reasons. First, protecting substations from flooding preserves critical high-value, high-cost assets. Second, distribution enhancements enable fewer outages during normal weather and improved restoration after the majority of storm events.

Distribution enhancements typically include a large distribution automation (DA) component with some amount of selective undergrounding. As these programs progress, the incremental work after just the first few years from these types of improvements are likely to produce diminishing returns. Unfortunately, there will always be worst-case storms and increasing stakeholder demands pushing for hardening programs well beyond those currently in progress. 

Hardening 2.0

Next-generation hardening programs (Hardening 2.0) begin with tough choices. Utilities must embrace the planning of hardening projects that address high-impact/very low-probability events, are difficult to justify on a cost/benefit basis, have less obvious or indefinable impact through immediate reliability improvements, and often require higher levels of community engagement.

However, Hardening 2.0 programs will benefit from clear, proactive consideration of utility objectives based on each utility’s particular situation and/or institutional changes within a utility that incorporate hardening into daily operations. High-level objectives are likely to include:

Decreasing the number of outages; 

Decreasing restoration time;

Limiting the amount of damage to the system;

Protecting the most valuable and hard-to-replace assets (thus limiting cost exposure and operating risk);

Keeping service on for critical infrastructure.

While decreasing both the number of outages and restoration times are typically addressed in current hardening programs, limiting the amount of damage and protecting the most valuable and hard-to-replace assets require utilities to look beyond distribution assets.

The process of protecting the most valuable and hard-to-replace assets ties directly to having specific assessments, risk evaluations, design improvements and mitigation programs. Assets in this category include substation equipment, older underground transmission systems that utilize dielectric fluid and overhead transmission spans that are difficult to reach because of isolated locations or complex coordination with other agencies, such as railroads. 

Keeping electric service on for critical infrastructure requires utilities to spend a significant amount of time with local emergency management agencies to assess, inventory and understand customer criticality from an emergency management perspective.

Having a well-thought-out and prepared plan developed in conjunction with emergency management professionals provides support for regulatory relief from any additional costs associated with providing higher levels of service to these types of facilities.

Cultural Changes

Hardening 2.0 requires a fundamental shift in thinking across a utility to drive a deeper hardening mind-set. Some key examples include:

Strategy and philosophy – Program strategy and philosophy should define the sequencing of components of a program over a defined number years by company or regulatory objectives, the relationships that are expected with emergency managers, business plans for execution of the program and funding mechanisms. 

Prioritization – Strong processes to prioritize opportunities allow for otherwise disparate work to be compared to set program schedules and funding.

Communication – Clearly communicating program expectations, progress and results to customers, employees, regulators and government agencies is vital and should be carried out through a defined and coordinated communication plan.

Community involvement – Creating and maintaining strong relationships with emergency managers, local governments, government agencies and communities is required. 

Operations Framework 

Hardening 2.0 requires thinking more holistically about utility infrastructure and related business processes, and cultivating a hardening mindset across day-to-day business operations. Critical elements include:

System configuration – Includes risk-based planning, configuring and actively re-configuring the system, both in day-to-day operation and in design, so that risk from loss of one or more components is minimized and there is a viable path to recovery in the event of one or more elements of the system failing. 

Design and construction standards – Includes using robust designs and requiring hardened assets in new construction, focused high-value enhancements to non-hardened assets and construction standards that enhance assets and simplify their repairability. 

Materials – Includes intentionally and selectively using stronger and more durable materials. 

Inspections – Includes performing appropriate inspections of potentially vulnerable assets. 

Maintenance practices – Includes prescribing enhanced maintenance practices designed to reduce susceptibility to damage or aid in the reconfiguration of the delivery system.

Mike Hervey is a director in Navigant’s energy practice in New York City and has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of utility operations.