Public Power - June 2008 - (Page 54)

Storming the Control Room SWAT team members captured the “eco-terrorists” in the Rocky Reach control room. Photo courtesy Chelan County PUD. team which way they went, after they dumped us…I knew they had to go one of two ways, but in the melee, I honestly forgot which way they went. They’re binding you up, they’re hustling you out, even though I knew it was a simulation, I didn’t know where they were going to take me.“ According to David Fisk, Senior Power Plant Operator, who was part of the night shift which came in after Wardell had been taken hostage, “We had been informed several weeks ahead that this was going to happen. We were given kind of a run down on what was being planned as far as hostage and terrorists on the project.” But he says, “We didn’t know that they would be coming into the control room. We had been told that we would have terrorists… but we didn’t have any real finite details of what would be taking place. They wanted to keep it as realistic as possible.“ “So we came on shift, about 7 p.m.“ 54 JUNE 2008 says Fisk. Some of the actors were already in the control room at that time. There were three hostages and also a Washington State Patrolman, he adds, who was there to answer questions. “Our security cameras were supposedly turned off. I don’t recall that we actually didn’t see anybody. Even the actors felt that the exercise was over. This was about 8:30. Ed Tippen (Chief Operator) went to uncover a window and look out the window and there (was) the SWAT team. They were able to get on the floor and release the door locks in the control room by computer. Once they did get the door locks released, they came storming into the control room. As far as we knew, Ed and I were going to be left out of the role playing; we weren’t going to be part of it because we were ‘essential personnel.‘ But, he chuckled, “It didn’t happen quite like that. We ended up being players.” “They came in yelling, ‘Get on the ground!’ pointing their guns at us. At first we didn’t think they were talking to us, until they made it very clear they were talking to us, and Ed and I both hit the ground. They came through and checked every nook and cranny in the control room. There were probably 12 to 15 of them. They checked behind every door, opened up every locker. It probably took a total of 3-4 minutes.“ Fisk says he found the exercise very interesting. He says it might be worthwhile for the plant to perform a follow-up exercise to tighten up any security gaps that were discovered during this one. Overall the simulated attack was very effective. Plant operators, law enforcement and staff learned valuable lessons in the process which helped them prepare in the event of a real attack. First, Robert acknowledges that the hydro plant could improve on protective We actually have a pretty good security system implemented here to at least get emergency response services contacted quite quickly. shut them off, but we couldn’t use them to track anybody so we had to put them on cameras that didn’t even look at the project, that look at the highway. We couldn’t monitor the whereabouts of where these SWAT personnel were… “A good hour went by and we really hadn’t heard any radio communications, measures to control operations of the spill gates. Second, there needs to be very close coordination when law enforcement, or any first responders to a critical incident, with somebody from the plant. “In fact, you have to be prepared to take one of your employees and put them with the responding officer in harms way.” That’s PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - June 2008

Public Power - June 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Solutions A Patchwork Approach to Renewable Energy Whose Grid Is It Anyway? The Little Utility That Could Benchmarking Customer Service Can Prairie Hay Power Your Town? Storming the Control Room Investing in the Smart Grid Coming of Age: Superconducting Cables Community Broadband Economic Development Customer Service Human Resources For Governing Boards Safety Parting Shot

Public Power - June 2008

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