Jeff Lewis

An Associated Press analysis of utility spending and reliability nationwide found that electric customers are spending 43 percent more than they did in 2002 to build and maintain local electric infrastructure. Since then, power outages have remained infrequent; but when the lights do go out, it now takes longer to get them back on.

Successful storm response is best managed through a combination of people, process and technology. Planning, preparing and implementing a response to a major storm event in a prescriptive manner improves restoration times and minimises risks to public safety and utility perception as seen after the severe weather impacts from Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene in the past two years.

PA’s Jeff Lewis, electric utility reliability expert and ReliabilityOneTM program director, discusses the impact of hurricane Sandy on electric utilities and smart technology. He says: “the effectiveness of schemes of smart technology such as sectionalising and automated restoration is quite limited.”

“The electric utility industry as a whole met the significant weather challenges of 2011, which included hurricanes and tornadoes, and maintained reliable electric service to their customers through effective use of current and new technologies, as well as improvements in field practices that support the restoration of electric service to customers during outage events,” said Jeff Lewis, Director of ReliabilityOne™ Program and head of the Global Energy Consulting practice at PA Consulting… Show more

“The electric utility industry as a whole met the significant weather challenges of 2011, which included hurricanes and tornadoes, and maintained reliable electric service to their customers through effective use of current and new technologies, as well as improvements in field practices that support the restoration of electric service to customers during outage events,” said Jeff Lewis, Director of ReliabilityOne™ Program and head of the Global Energy Consulting practice at PA Consulting Group. As Director of the ReliabilityOne™ program, Mr. Lewis has completed more than 100 certifications of systems and processes that include emergency response plans for major events.
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Jeff highlights the importance of gearing up the emergency services: “It’s also a case of co-ordinating with the local police and fire brigade. Borrowing staff from unaffected utilities and requiring staff to work very long shifts, even seven days a week, is common practice in the US.”

Jeff Lewis, electric utility reliability expert at PA Consulting Group, discusses best practices for utility reliability. Jeff is the director of PA’s ReliabilityOneTM program for reliability in the electric utility industry.

In the article, Jeff commented that Con Edison won the overall outstanding system-wide award for national reliability in the U.S. in 2011 partly because of management’s investment in reliability.