ENA updates Minister on winter preparedness and flood resilience
The trade body, the Energy Networks Association, has briefed the Energy Minister, Malcolm Wickes, on the energy industry's preparedness for the potential interruption of supplies during possible winter storms
David Smith, acting chief executive of ENA wrote to the Minister saying 'ENA continues to work closely with officials in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to ensure the industry is prepared for storm conditions.
'A good example of this has been our work on vegetation management to ensure that disruption caused by falling trees onto lines in the event of a storm is minimised.
'ENA has also established an Emergency Planning Managers Forum in which senior managers across the electricity industry are planning and developing best practice to deal with storm incidents. They are sharing experiences and supporting each other with technical and manpower assistance (NEWSAC) during an emergency.'
ENA also took the opportunity to give the Minister an update on the Task Group he requested ENA lead on reviewing the resilience of electricity substations to flooding. David Smith reported to the Minister that 'The Task Group, with representation from ENA members companies, BERR, Ofgem and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, held a workshop with the Environment Agency at the Cabinet Office on 7th November to share information and raise levels of understanding. The Task Group will report on the findings from the review, with options and recommendations for future action.
David Smith went on to remind the Minister 'We are looking to further develop network resilience strategies and I know you will recognise that these, as with every aspect of our regulated networks, needs to be supported with adequate funding over coming price reviews.'
