PG&E hosts earthquake preparedness event
Pacific Gas & Electric Company recently put its emergency plan through its paces by conducting a large-scale earthquake exercise at its new emergency operations center in Vacaville, California.
“The exercise had two primary goals—to help PG&E prepare in case of a major earthquake and to validate the Vacaville Emergency Response Center before it became officially active,” Denny Boyles, communications representative for PG&E, told American Gas. “Both goals were met.”
Hundreds of PG&E employees in Vacaville and elsewhere across the service area took part in the emergency exercise, which simulated a magnitude 7.0 earthquake with the epicenter near Oakland and subsequent aftershocks in the East Bay Area.
“This was a companywide exercise, involving participants from many departments, including our gas, electric, generation and safety teams,” Boyles said. “We also had many partners on-site either participating or observing the exercise.”
Those on-site included representatives from several agencies, such as the California Office of Emergency Services, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bay Area Rapid Transit, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Independent System Operator and the Department of Energy.
“Following the exercise, we looked at work groups or areas that would benefit from more emergency response training, and we are implementing that training now,” Boyles said. “Training for emergencies is an ongoing evolution, as people come into new roles or gain new responsibilities. Exercises provide both good experience for new participants and a valuable evaluation tool.”
It’s vitally important that customers are prepared, too, by having individual and family emergency plans and go bags and making sure PG&E has updated contact information, Mark Quinlan, senior director of emergency preparedness and response for PG&E, said in a news release.