Opinion: Preparing for the next surprise

As a cooperative, MEA is responsible for more than simply delivering electricity. We are also here to serve our members and our community, and that can take on many forms.

When the November earthquake hit, I was in Anchorage for a meeting. Like many of you who commute to Anchorage for work, I found myself on the wrong side of closed bridges and snarled traffic from our headquarters and our members.

Our first-responders: line crews, dispatchers, technicians, warehouse staff, communication professionals and other support employees did what they do best – respond to sudden and unexpected interruptions in power. While this is the kind of problem we solve on a regular basis, the scope of the problem was much larger than any other day at the office, with 16 of our 22 substations and almost 75% of our 65,000 meters without power. I am very proud of the commitment of this team who put their own personal needs aside to focus on our members and the community. Our team kept their cool, followed the process and worked together to attack the problem.

While one team was working at restoring the electrical backbone, another was assessing our power plant, the Eklutna Generation Station (EGS). EGS rode through the event well; it was designed to withstand this kind of incident or worse. When that many members lose power, the plant needs to adjust accordingly. MEA plant operators stayed busy making sure our engines handled the sudden drop in electrical load. They also monitored how the neighboring power plants and transmission lines reacted to the quake to respond if necessary. We were able to stabilize and maintain the larger grid in partnership with our colleagues quickly, and this was a key component of our ability restore power to many of our members within a few hours.

We also had a team focused on reaching out to each of you. Our goal was to ensure everyone received accurate information directly from us, before rumors and frustration had the chance to take root. We also worked hard to keep up with member questions through Facebook Messenger and Twitter. During a time of uncertainty and heightened emotions, we realize being able to connect with a person on the other end can make a difference.

As I reflect, I remain proud of what our team accomplished that day. That team includes our patient and supportive members. Thank you. It was powerful to watch our community come together.

As with most emergency events, we walked away with some lessons learned, and, like all of us, the event has given me a lot to think about over the past month and a half. As the weeks have passed, there is one thought I can’t shake – we got lucky. Our crews and support personnel did an amazing job, but we were also fortunate to have power at our headquarters, clear roads to drive on, cell coverage to communicate with, and very little extensive damage to repair. The team handled the 7.0 earthquake and resulting outages with poise, precision and passion. Overall, our system did great. But what if it had been a 7.5? Higher? What keeps me focused now is defining what MEA should be working on today to make sure we’re prepared when luck isn’t on our side in the future. We need to be ready.

With that in mind, it’s important to understand that Alaska is an incredibly unique place to work in. When I moved to Alaska to take a job with an investor-owned gas utility almost two-decades ago, I fell in love with our great State. I was also struck by the isolation of this area in combination with its subarctic-environment, seismic activity and the critical nature of our energy demand.

Since then, with experience as the leader of both a major gas and electric utility in the state, I have an even better understanding of our assets, but also our vulnerabilities: one long transmission line tying us all together, one pipeline carrying the gas we rely on for heat and electricity, one road in and out of our biggest city, one primary port for over two thirds of Alaska’s goods and services.

Here we accept risks that our counterparts in the lower 48 wouldn’t dream of, and I think the earthquake helped us all get a glimpse of that fragility. With that said, people have been making it work here for thousands of years, and we have developed the can-do attitudes and ingenuity it takes to thrive in this challenging environment.

Things have changed a lot since the co-op started 75 years ago. Although we remain rooted in Alaskan ingenuity, our system is evolving along with our members’ needs. I want our members to know MEA is focused on preparing for the next surprise – to make sure our system is resilient. What do I mean by that? We recognize events like a large earthquake or cyber-attack may happen, but how prepared are we to bounce back when something occurs? How will we recover from adversity? How well can we adapt? Energy means safety, comfort, commerce and connection for our members – the basic needs for a happy life and thriving community. A resilient system is not a luxury; it’s a necessity.

Our push towards a more resilient system started when we began building EGS. We saw some of the results of those actions in our ability to respond to quickly to the earthquake, but there is more to be done. Over the next few years you’ll be hearing about MEA’s plans to build a more secure, reliable and resilient system. Whether it is creating more redundancy and automation into our grid, collaborating with the other utilities, or proactively managing the growth in our community, we will focus on being ready.

In the meantime, when your lights go out, whether it’s a small, snow-related outage or a large event like an earthquake, MEA will be there. Under the toughest conditions, we’re working to keep our neighbors safe, comfortable and connected.

Tony Izzo is the general manager of Matanuska Electric Association.