[IP] Restoring pipeline came first in MS
Begin forwarded message:
From: mphee <mphee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 12, 2005 4:29:46 PM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Fw: [Biofuel] Restoring pipeline came first in MS
---------- Forwarded Message -----------
From: Paul S Cantrell <pcantrell@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Biofuel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, 12 Sep 2005 13:02:52 -0400
Subject: [Biofuel] Restoring pipeline came first in MS
A story of the white house ordering that power be restored to power
substations serving pipeline pumps in Mississippi and take priority over
hospitals and water systems. Since when is gasoline & diesel delivery
1500+
miles north more important than clean water and hospital care in the
hours
following a major hurricane? I find this disgusting. The cooperatives
restored the power, despite the fact that the federal government has
zero
authority over an instate power coop like Southern Pine Electric
Power. The
coop is self-regulated by its board of directors.
Power crews diverted
Restoring pipeline came first
September 11, 2005
By Nikki Davis Maute
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20050911/NEWS05/509110304
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi
knocking
out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power
restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.
That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve
Colonial
Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power
to two
rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.
At the time, gasoline was in short supply across the country because of
Katrina. Prices increased dramatically and lines formed at pumps
across the
South.
"I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines
operating,"
said Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric
Power
Association - which distributes power that rural electric
cooperatives sell
to consumers and businesses.
"I reluctantly agreed to pull half our transmission line crews off other
projects and made getting the transmission lines to the Collins
substations
a priority," Compton said. "Our people were told to work until it was
done.
"They did it in 16 hours, and I consider the effort unprecedented."
Katrina slammed into South Mississippi and Southeast Louisiana on
Aug. 29,
causing widespread devastation and plunging most of the area - including
regional medical centers and rural hospitals - into darkness.
The storm also knocked out two power substations in Collins, just
north of
Hattiesburg. The substations were crucial to Atlanta-based Colonial
Pipeline, which moves gasoline and diesel fuel from Texas, through
Louisiana
and Mississippi and up to the Northeast.
"We were led to believe a national emergency was created when the
pipelines
were shut down," Compton said.
*White House call*
Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pine Electric Power Association, said
Vice
President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice shortly
after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed power
restored
immediately.
Jordan dated the first call the night of Aug. 30 and the second call the
morning of Aug. 31. Southern Pine supplies electricity to the substation
that powers the Colonial pipeline.
Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Mike Callahan said the U.S.
Department of Energy called him on Aug. 31. Callahan said department
officials said opening the fuel line was a national priority.
Cheney's office referred calls about the pipeline to the Department of
Homeland Security. Calls there were referred to Kirk Whitworth, who
would
not take a telephone message and required questions in the form of an
e-mail.
Susan Castiglione, senior manager of corporate and public affairs with
Colonial Pipeline, did not return phone calls.
Compton said workers who were trying to restore substations that
power two
rural hospitals - Stone County Hospital in Wiggins and George County
Hospital in Lucedale - worked instead on the Colonial Pipeline project.
The move caused power to be restored at least 24 hours later than
planned.
Mindy Osborn, emergency room coordinator at Stone County Hospital,
said the
power was not restored until six days after the storm on Sept. 4. She
didn't
have the number of patients who were hospitalized during the week
after the
storm.
"Oh, yes, 24 hours earlier would have been a help," Osborn said.
Compton said workers who were trying to restore power to some rural
water
systems also were taken off their jobs and placed on the Colonial
Pipeline
project. Compton did not name specific water systems affected.
*Callahan's visit*
Callahan is one of three elected public service commissioners who
oversee
most public utilities in the state. Commissioners, however, have no
authority over rural electric power cooperatives.
Nevertheless, Callahan said he drove to Compton's office on U.S. 49
North in
Hattiesburg to tell him about the call from the Department of Energy.
Callahan said he would support whatever decision Compton made.
Callahan said energy officials told him gasoline and diesel fuel
needed to
flow through the pipeline to avert a national crisis from the
inability to
meet fuel needs in the Northeast.
Callahan said the process of getting the pipelines flowing would be
difficult and that there was a chance the voltage required to do so
would
knock out the system - including power to Wesley Medical Center in
Hattiesburg.
With Forrest General Hospital operating on generators, Wesley was the
only
hospital operating with full electric power in the Pine Belt in the days
following Katrina.
"Our concern was that if Wesley went down, it would be a national
crisis for
Mississippi," Callahan said. "We knew it would take three to four
days to
get Forrest General Hospital's power restored and we did not want to
lose
Wesley."
Compton, though, followed the White House's directive.
Nathan Brown, manager of power supply for the electric association, was
responsible for overseeing the delicate operation of starting the
5,000-horsepower pumps at the pipeline.
Engineers with Southern Co., the parent company of Mississippi Power
Co.,
did a dual analysis of what it would take to restore power and Brown
worked
with Southern Co. engineers on the best and quickest way to restore
power.
Work began at 10 a.m. Sept. 1 and power was restored at 2 a.m. Sept.
2 - a
16-hour job.
*Night work*
A good bit of the work took place at night.
Line foreman Matt Ready was in charge of one of the teams that worked to
power the substations and the pipeline. Ready's shift started at 6 a.m.
Sept. 1; he received word about the job four hours later and saw it to
completion.
"We were told to stay with it until we got power restored," Ready
said. "We
had real safety issues because there were fires in the trees on the
lines
and broken power poles."
Ready described working on the lines in the dark like attempting to
clear
fallen trees out of a yard with a flashlight and a chain saw.
"Everything was dangerous," he said.
Ready said the crew members did not learn they were restoring power to
pipelines until after the job was done.
How did they feel about that?
"Is this on the record?" Ready asked. "Well, then, we are all glad we
were
able to help out."
Compton said he was happy to support the national effort. But he said
it was
a difficult decision to make because of the potential impact in the
region
had the plan not worked and the area's power restoration was set back
days.
"It was my decision to balance what was most important to people in
South
Mississippi with this all-of-a-sudden national crisis of not enough
gas or
diesel fuel," Compton said.
"In the future, the federal government needs to give us guidelines if
this
is such a national emergency so that I can work that in my plans."
--
Thanks,
Paul
He's the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch
------- End of Forwarded Message -------
A story of the white house ordering that power be restored to power
substations serving pipeline pumps in Mississippi and take priority
over hospitals and water systems. Since when is gasoline & diesel
delivery 1500+ miles north more important than clean water and
hospital care in the hours following a major hurricane? I find this
disgusting. The cooperatives restored the power, despite the fact
that the federal government has zero authority over an instate power
coop like Southern Pine Electric Power. The coop is self-regulated
by its board of directors.
Power crews diverted
Restoring pipeline came first
September 11, 2005
By Nikki Davis Maute
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20050911/NEWS05/509110304
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi
knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House
ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.
That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve
Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to
restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in
the Pine Belt.
At the time, gasoline was in short supply across the country because
of Katrina. Prices increased dramatically and lines formed at pumps
across the South.
"I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines
operating," said Jim Compton, general manager of the South
Mississippi Electric Power Association - which distributes power that
rural electric cooperatives sell to consumers and businesses.
"I reluctantly agreed to pull half our transmission line crews off
other projects and made getting the transmission lines to the Collins
substations a priority," Compton said. "Our people were told to work
until it was done.
"They did it in 16 hours, and I consider the effort unprecedented."
Katrina slammed into South Mississippi and Southeast Louisiana on
Aug. 29, causing widespread devastation and plunging most of the area
- including regional medical centers and rural hospitals - into
darkness.
The storm also knocked out two power substations in Collins, just
north of Hattiesburg. The substations were crucial to Atlanta-based
Colonial Pipeline, which moves gasoline and diesel fuel from Texas,
through Louisiana and Mississippi and up to the Northeast.
"We were led to believe a national emergency was created when the
pipelines were shut down," Compton said.
White House call
Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pine Electric Power Association, said
Vice President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice
shortly after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed
power restored immediately.
Jordan dated the first call the night of Aug. 30 and the second call
the morning of Aug. 31. Southern Pine supplies electricity to the
substation that powers the Colonial pipeline.
Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Mike Callahan said the U.S.
Department of Energy called him on Aug. 31. Callahan said department
officials said opening the fuel line was a national priority.
Cheney's office referred calls about the pipeline to the Department
of Homeland Security. Calls there were referred to Kirk Whitworth,
who would not take a telephone message and required questions in the
form of an e-mail.
Susan Castiglione, senior manager of corporate and public affairs
with Colonial Pipeline, did not return phone calls.
Compton said workers who were trying to restore substations that
power two rural hospitals - Stone County Hospital in Wiggins and
George County Hospital in Lucedale - worked instead on the Colonial
Pipeline project.
The move caused power to be restored at least 24 hours later than
planned.
Mindy Osborn, emergency room coordinator at Stone County Hospital,
said the power was not restored until six days after the storm on
Sept. 4. She didn't have the number of patients who were hospitalized
during the week after the storm.
"Oh, yes, 24 hours earlier would have been a help," Osborn said.
Compton said workers who were trying to restore power to some rural
water systems also were taken off their jobs and placed on the
Colonial Pipeline project. Compton did not name specific water
systems affected.
Callahan's visit
Callahan is one of three elected public service commissioners who
oversee most public utilities in the state. Commissioners, however,
have no authority over rural electric power cooperatives.
Nevertheless, Callahan said he drove to Compton's office on U.S. 49
North in Hattiesburg to tell him about the call from the Department
of Energy. Callahan said he would support whatever decision Compton
made.
Callahan said energy officials told him gasoline and diesel fuel
needed to flow through the pipeline to avert a national crisis from
the inability to meet fuel needs in the Northeast.
Callahan said the process of getting the pipelines flowing would be
difficult and that there was a chance the voltage required to do so
would knock out the system - including power to Wesley Medical Center
in Hattiesburg.
With Forrest General Hospital operating on generators, Wesley was the
only hospital operating with full electric power in the Pine Belt in
the days following Katrina.
"Our concern was that if Wesley went down, it would be a national
crisis for Mississippi," Callahan said. "We knew it would take three
to four days to get Forrest General Hospital's power restored and we
did not want to lose Wesley."
Compton, though, followed the White House's directive.
Nathan Brown, manager of power supply for the electric association,
was responsible for overseeing the delicate operation of starting the
5,000-horsepower pumps at the pipeline.
Engineers with Southern Co., the parent company of Mississippi Power
Co., did a dual analysis of what it would take to restore power and
Brown worked with Southern Co. engineers on the best and quickest way
to restore power.
Work began at 10 a.m. Sept. 1 and power was restored at 2 a.m. Sept.
2 - a 16-hour job.
Night work
A good bit of the work took place at night.
Line foreman Matt Ready was in charge of one of the teams that worked
to power the substations and the pipeline. Ready's shift started at 6
a.m. Sept. 1; he received word about the job four hours later and saw
it to completion.
"We were told to stay with it until we got power restored," Ready
said. "We had real safety issues because there were fires in the
trees on the lines and broken power poles."
Ready described working on the lines in the dark like attempting to
clear fallen trees out of a yard with a flashlight and a chain saw.
"Everything was dangerous," he said.
Ready said the crew members did not learn they were restoring power
to pipelines until after the job was done.
How did they feel about that?
"Is this on the record?" Ready asked. "Well, then, we are all glad we
were able to help out."
Compton said he was happy to support the national effort. But he said
it was a difficult decision to make because of the potential impact
in the region had the plan not worked and the area's power
restoration was set back days.
"It was my decision to balance what was most important to people in
South Mississippi with this all-of-a-sudden national crisis of not
enough gas or diesel fuel," Compton said.
"In the future, the federal government needs to give us guidelines if
this is such a national emergency so that I can work that in my plans."
--
Thanks,
Paul
He's the kind of a guy who lights up a room just by flicking a switch
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