Pandemic Preparedness

Electric utilities are committed to providing a reliable supply of electricity to their customers. The electric utility industry has a successful record of planning for—and responding to—a wide-range of emergency events.

This planning generally assumes that damage to utility infrastructure will necessitate restoration of electric service. However, the unique nature of an influenza pandemic requires additional planning considerations—such as how to function if nearly half of your employees cannot report to work.

Developing a comprehensive pandemic response plan is essential for all organizations in the United States. However, critical industries—such as the electric utility industry—carry an additional responsibility to provide the services that will help our nation’s first-responders during a pandemic. A critical component of the industry’s efforts is well-planned coordination with federal, state, and local governments.

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organizaiton declared that the H1N1 influenza (the "swine flu") had reached a pandemic level. The electric utility industry continues to work with federal government agencies—including the Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Transportation—as well as state and local authorities, to identify opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the industry’s response to this emergency situation.