Statewide Emergency Exercise Preps Agencies for Severe Weather Event
May 19 2017 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
More than 50 organizations come together to
prepare for worst-case scenarios
In the face of severe weather and other catastrophic incidents,
ensuring that critical infrastructure is protected and can be
restored quickly is paramount. To help prepare for potential,
real-life emergency scenarios ComEd has organized “Operation Power
Play 2017”, a statewide drill that will take place on May 18 and 19
in coordination with Ameren Illinois, the City of Chicago’s Office
of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), the University
of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), People’s Gas, the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency, Will, Cook and DuPage County Departments of
Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the United States
Army Reserve and more than 50 other state, county, municipal,
public and private entities.
“In an uncertain world, it’s vital that we work in conjunction
with our local agencies to review our processes and systems that
can help maintain critical services to residents and businesses
when they are needed most,” said Anne Pramaggiore, President and
CEO of ComEd. ““By having these agencies work together in advance
to develop and practice collaborative processes, this drill will
help Illinois be better prepared in the face of a catastrophe.”
“Here in Chicago we have a strong track record when it comes to
planning and responding to extreme weather events and emergency
situations,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “One reason is because of a
concerted effort by the City’s public safety departments to
collaborate with public and private partners, which strengthens
their ability to share information, manage on-scene response and
allocate resources.”
Operation Power Play 2017 took place at UIC where participating
agencies conducted table top exercises and showcased equipment and
vehicles that would be used as part of a response. During the
exercise, ComEd coordinated a comprehensive, multi-agency response
to assist extreme flood-damaged areas with a number of partner
agencies participating onsite at Chicago’s OEMC and UIC and
remotely at locations all around the state. In addition, a
suspicious package removal exercise was conducted at a ComEd
substation in coordination with the FBI and Chicago Police
Department, as well as a leak of oil from an underwater
transmission cable in the Chicago River with the Metropolitan Water
Reclamation District, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard,
and the US EPA.
“UIC is honored to be the first university in Chicago to host a
statewide Homeland Security Exercise. We welcome the collaborative
partnerships with federal, state, local, and private organizations
and believe it is vitally important for higher education
institutions to take part in comprehensive, integrative emergency
planning and preparedness initiatives to make our universities
disaster resilient,” said Michael D. Amiridis, UIC Chancellor.
"Effectively managing a crisis situation today requires
collaboration between energy companies, first responders and
partner agencies," said Richard J. Mark, Chairman and President,
Ameren Illinois. "This hands-on exercise brings all of the key
players together to refine our emergency response processes and,
most importantly, ensure that we're effectively communicating so
service can be restored as quickly and safely as possible."
Activities taking place around the state in conjunction with the
drill included:
- The State of Illinois is opening their
State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield to coordinate
State response to flooding throughout the state.
- ChicagoFIRST, an emergency preparedness
organization for banking and financial institutions is sharing
situational awareness information between its member agencies.
- Argonne National Laboratory will be
shutting off power to several buildings, simulating a tornado
impact, then will be conducting search and rescue activities
throughout those facilities
- The US Army Reserve base in Elwood, IL
will be simulating a hazardous materials leak and exercising their
evacuation and command procedures
- ComEd is activating four Joint
Operations Centers and will work with local municipalities to
prioritize their outages
- The Civil Air Patrol is flying overhead
and providing real time damage assessment photos and video to
participating agencies
- The Chicago Federal Executive Board is
here using this exercise to practice their Continuity of Government
plans in case of a catastrophic power outage
“Response to major disasters involves multiple state, local and
federal agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private
sector,” said James K. Joseph, director of the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency. “Large-scale exercises, such as Operation Power
Play 2017, provide a unique opportunity for these entities to test
their ability to integrate with other organizations in response to
a challenging scenario. The lessons learned from this exercise will
enhance response capabilities throughout Illinois.”
Following the exercise, participants will meet to review
processes, discuss lessons learned and look for opportunities for
improvement.
Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) is a unit of Chicago-based
Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation’s leading competitive
energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. ComEd
provides service to approximately 3.9 million customers across
northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For
more information visit ComEd.com, and
connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
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ComEdJohn Schoen312-394-8785 or 847-682-3947 (m)
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