Storm mutual aid: how utilities share restoration crews, tree trimmers included

This page reports what the named sources say. It does not set out pay, per diem or hours, which none of them gives. Storm hazards and OSHA's storm material are on storm work, and the rules that tie tree contractors to storm response in a few states are on storm contractor rules.

What utility mutual assistance is

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the trade body for investor-owned electric companies, describes its mutual assistance programme as a voluntary partnership of electric companies across the country that helps restore power wherever and whenever assistance is needed. Its explainer says municipal utilities and electric cooperatives have their own mutual aid programmes, and that EEI talks regularly with the associations serving them during major outages. The programme is described as formal but flexible: a company hit by a major outage borrows restoration workers from other companies, and a company called on sends its own employees and contractors along with specialized equipment.

A 2014 EEI slide presentation to the U.S. Department of Energy's Electricity Advisory Committee, dated March 4, 2014, sums it up as a voluntary partnership of utilities that send skilled line workers to areas hit by major outages. It lists line crews, tree trimmers, damage assessors and logistics managers as examples of what the regional groups locate and send.

How a request moves

Agreements are voluntary and made among electric companies within the same region. The EEI explainer says most are managed by Regional Mutual Assistance Groups, called RMAGs.
When a member decides it needs restoration help, it starts a request through its RMAG.
The RMAG identifies available workers, helps coordinate logistics, and can help find specialized skills, equipment and materials. The explainer lists lineworkers, tree trimmers, damage assessors and call center support among the resources.
Each company in an RMAG has committed, when possible, to send its workers, contractors and equipment when called on. If needed, companies in one RMAG assist those in another region.
Before work starts, the host company gives visiting restoration workers any necessary safety training and an overview of the affected facilities.

National Response Events

The explainer says Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 was the largest post-storm restoration the industry had undertaken, with approximately 10 million customers losing power across 24 states and 80 companies, from almost every state and from Canada, sending workers. It says there was no national framework before Sandy, and that EEI's board approved a framework in September 2013 for what it calls national response events. It also says three northeastern RMAGs merged in September 2013 into the North Atlantic Mutual Assistance Group, cutting the number of RMAGs from nine to seven.

The 2014 presentation defines a National Response Event as a natural or man-made event forecast to cause, or causing, widespread outages affecting a significant population or several regions, and needing resources from multiple RMAGs. When one is declared, it says, prior commitments are honored, but going forward all available emergency restoration resources, including contractors, are pooled and allocated to participating utilities without regard to RMAG affiliation. The slides date from 2014 and describe the process then.

Where tree contractors appear

The EEI explainer counts both company employees and contractors among the restoration workers that travel. Tree trimmers appear by name in its list of resources an RMAG can help identify. Neither document in this section sets qualifications, rates or hours for tree crews.

A separate system: EMAC

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is a different mechanism. Its website describes an interstate mutual aid system established in law that helps states, territories and the District of Columbia swap personnel, equipment and resources across state lines in disasters, and says every state, the District of Columbia and several territories take part. EMAC works between governments. In its process, a Requesting State activates EMAC, assisting states submit offers, and a Resource Support Agreement fixes the resources, mission details and estimated costs. The page says a governor's declaration of emergency or disaster is required before a state can receive assistance. The EMAC page does not mention tree crews or utilities by name.