Public Safety & Electric Utility Coordination

Round Table Discussion

Scott Mount

Before Sept 11, 2001 Utility Industry Trends

Reactive Response to System Maintenance

Smaller customer base

Infrastructure was primarily manually operated

Focus was on De-Regulation, Environmental, & Company Mergers

Before Sept 11, 2001 Public Safety Trends

Reactive to Calls For Service

Tactics and Training change slowly

Reluctant to embrace technology

Intelligence is for CID

Coordination with other agencies only on special circumstances

Post-Sept 11, 2001 Utility Industry Trends

Implement and Practice Incident Command System

Document Critical Infrastructure

Create Emergency Management Coordinator Position

Enhanced System Automation: Scada, Outage Management, GIS

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7

Post-Sept 11, 2001 Utility Industry Events

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Rita

Cat 5 Tornadoes

Major Ice Storms

Oil Refinery Explosions

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 establishes a national policy for Federal departments and agencies to identify and prioritize critical infrastructure and to protect them from terrorist attacks. The directive defines relevant terms and delivers 31 policy statements. These policy statements define what the directive covers and the roles various federal, state, and local agencies will play in carrying it out.

Post-Sept 11, 2001 Public Safety Trends

Homeland Security Agency Created

Funding for Training and Equipment

Emergency Operations Centers

Embrace Technology: CAD Systems, Video Surveillance, Communications

Post-Sept 11, 2001 Public Safety Events

Domestic Terrorism/Anti Government

Mass Shootings/Active Shooter

Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Drug Cartels

Sovereign Citizen Movement

Failing Economy

Current Public Safety Trends

Fusion Intelligence Centers

ARIC

Mandatory Incident Command Training

Vital Information is sent to First Responders

Increasing use of technology

Creation of TLO Position

Tactical Scenario Training: Urban Shield

The next steps

Policy Directive 21 (Presidential PPD-21): Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience advances a national policy to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning, and resilient critical infrastructure. This directive supersedes Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7. Effective Feb 2013

Challenges

Employee Retirements ( experience with major events)

Reliance on technology, less human inspections

Budget Constraints

Increase of Domestic Terrorism

Coordinated Communication

Lack of knowledge / Silo mentality

Closing the GAP

Training for Utility Personnel on Suspicious Activity

Training for Public Safety on Basic Utility Operations

Use Liaison person between Public Safety or TLO and Utility Provider

Include Utility Infrastructure Damage during Tactical Training Scenarios

Resources

www.dhs.gov/critical-infrastructure-sectors

www.dhs.gov/fusion-center-locations-and-contact-information

www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/index.htm