American Gas - October 2012 - (Page 18)

SAFETY SECURITY RELIABILITY SAFETY FIRST Mayday, Mayday! Mutual aid programs allow utilities in tight situations to “borrow” crews and equipment K GARY JAMES is a business-to-business writer and editor based in Chapel Hill, N.C. en Oostman signed the paperwork for the mutual aid program of the Southern Gas Association just two weeks before a “perfect storm” of weather and supply challenges hit his area. Oostman, vice president of operations for New Mexico Gas Co., thought twice before joining the mutual aid program, believing it was unlikely his utility would ever need to reach out to other utilities for help. After all, New Mexico is known for its mild weather and gas outages are rare. That all changed on Feb. 3, 2011. “We’d been tracking a storm that originated in Canada for a week to 10 days and had taken all the steps we normally take for bad winter weather,” says Oostman. “We’d been buying extra gas and had our emergency plans in place. We thought we were in good shape to handle the storm.” But on that day, temperatures throughout the Southwest and into Mexico dropped to record lows, causing a spike in demand. At the same time, NMGC’s suppliers in Texas and New Mexico were facing their own problems due to weather, including frozen wellheads and electrical outages that significantly reduced production and caused serious disruptions in the supply of natural gas to interstate pipelines and local distribution companies throughout the Southwest. Recognizing that delivery pressures and supply volumes were falling while usage was rising—a situation that risked a system collapse—NMGC was forced to declare a system emergency and curtail portions of its system. Nearly 29,000 customers were affected. Other natural gas utilities in neighboring states were forced to do the same, leaving approximately 50,000 customers throughout the Southwest without service. That morning, Oostman requested help through the SGA’s mutual aid program as well as Neither wind, nor rain, nor snow: A New Mexico Gas Co. work crew, ready for action. the AGA’s Mutual Assistance Program (of which NMGC is also a member) to line up additional workers to help with service restoration. The two associations immediately notified program participants that NMGC needed assistance, and a conference call was set up for utilities that might be able to send crews to the area. “Being part of these two mutual aid programs gave us a big jump-start in organizing our response,” says Oostman. “The basic guidelines for working together are already set, so all we had to do was work out the specifics such as the rates for reimbursement and the logistics of when work would start.” Facilitating Aid Launched in 1995, the AGA’s Mutual Assistance Program is a voluntary, no-fee initiative involving a coalition of AGA member companies in the United States and Canada that agree to a set of baseline provisions that govern mutual assistance during a natural disaster or other emergency. Participants also agree to maintain a database (available through www.aga.org) that contains company-specific emergency contact information and field capabilities. The program includes nearly 100 utilities. 18 AMERICAN GAS OCTOBER 2012 http://www.aga.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - October 2012

American Gas - October 2012
Contents
President’s Message
Industry News
In the Know
Safety First
Tech Talk
Keep the Lights On
Buyer’s Guide 2012
Places to Be
Jobline
Advertisers’ Index
Noteworthies
Marketplace
Facts on Gas

American Gas - October 2012