The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is taking extra measures to safeguard critical utility systems as part of National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month.
In order to test the collaborative planning needed to deal with challenges such as severe weather, natural disasters, and cyber threats, the PUC recently participated in the second annual Operation Blue Flame exercise.
This joint effort with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency allowed those involved to experience a scenario involving the disruption of natural gas distribution across a large geographic area during a period of extremely cold weather.
This training session allowed organizations like the PUC to develop plans for this kind of situation including mass sheltering and feeding of residents and animals as well as security concerns, economic issues, and resource coordination between state and local levels.