Hurricane season began June 1st and runs through November 30th. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) forecasters are calling for a “near-normal” year, with 12 to 17 named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those storms, five to nine could become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), with one to four becoming major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). 

We know that no matter what blows our way, preparing for all emergencies, including weather events, is a year-round activity for GUC. Employees are consistently doing what they can to ensure our systems are in the best condition possible and that we have an adequate supply of materials to handle most situations, at any given time. 

Electric
GUC’s outage management system, called Responder, is a valuable asset during service interruptions. Responder simultaneously links to our Emergency Hotline, Geographic Information System (GIS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), and Customer Care & Billing (CC&B). By tapping into multiple tools at once, Responder can automatically group together related customer calls, which makes managing the outages much easier. 

One of the key benefits for customers is better communication. Through an outage map on our website, customers can see where we have outages and even report their outages with just a few simple steps. Customers can also call to report outages using our Emergency Hotline, including a call-back option for updates. 

A fairly new tool for communicating with customers about power outages is an outage text notification system (you can read the August 2022 Spotlight story here). The messages include an initial alert soon after the system indicates an outage that affects the customer, a link to the outage map and estimated restoration times, a follow-up alert when crews have arrived at the affected service area, and a final message indicating power has been restored.   

Another responsibility of the Electric Department is line clearing, an ongoing program to help minimize service interruptions. One thing that makes Pitt County a beautiful place to live is our trees. Without proper management, trees have the potential to cause serious problems for our electric distribution system. Preventing those problems is why GUC has a year-round line clearing program that covers our entire distribution system. Line Clearing Crews work daily on trimming branches and trees that threaten overhead power lines. Their work is crucial because we cannot prevent strong winds and heavy rains from possibly damaging our trees. What we can do is work hard to prevent as many trees as possible from hitting our power lines, which could potentially cause widespread outages.  

Water Resources
Water Resources crews monitor and maintain our distribution system so we can quickly make repairs should the need arise. The systems at the Water Treatment Plant are continuously monitored, and back-up systems are in place so that we’re able to serve our customers no matter what weather situations arise. The Wastewater Treatment Plant also regularly monitors systems so they can function during any type of emergency. 

Natural Gas
Similarly, the Gas Department inspects and maintains gas valves and has identified those critical for isolating sections of the system in the event of an emergency. In the event that our supply of natural gas is restricted due to an emergency or if pipeline transportation became an issue, our Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant has approximately a week’s supply of gas in storage. 

Operations Support (Stores, Fleet Maintenance, Facilities, and Risk/Safety) 
Our warehouse, Stores, keeps enough inventory on hand for crews to have the supplies they need to make emergency repairs. With current supply chain issues, they’ve been planning even further ahead than usual. They also ensure there are enough supplies on hand to provide what’s needed for our two mobile units that are set up at substations. Once it’s safe for employees to get out in the field to restore service, they have what is needed to get the job done.  

Utilizing their new space at the Operations Center, Fleet Maintenance keeps our vehicles and equipment, including watercraft, in tip-top shape to ensure they are always ready to roll. In addition, we have a larger trailer that serves as a fleet mobile response unit. This trailer is stocked with all the inventory needed to repair and maintain equipment during large outages and mutual aid trips. 

Our Facilities Maintenance team works to maintain all our buildings every day. Prior to storms, they make sure everything is battened down and ready. They also make sure that roofing and storm drains are clear from debris to avoid potential flooding.    

Risk Management and Safety play a big role in storm preparation as well. Preparing employees to work safely under blue skies helps them identify and control exposures that occur during outage restoration and other emergency activities. Adequate property and flood insurance coverage as well as claims filing and managing readiness helps protect GUC’s financial interest and facilitates recovery.  

Customer Communications
Communicating effectively with our customers is crucial during emergencies. Over the years, we’ve used experience from past weather events to enhance the way we communicate to our customers during emergencies. 

Our Emergency Hotline 855-SOS-2GUC (1-855-767-2482) is dedicated to helping us handle a large number of calls at one time. It’s available 24/7 and is a fast way customers can report an outage, gas leak, water leak, or any other utility emergency. 

Another option in our communication toolbox is CodeRed, a service that allows us to send personalized messages to customers and employees about emergencies. For example, we make the phone calls to inform employees of office closures or delays using Code Red.  

GUC’s weather channel, GUCtv (cable channel 35), is yet another way we share information. Our partnership with WITN allows us to provide not only weather information, but also videos and slides of GUC-specific information. We also share information online through our website and social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, and Google).  

2023 Hurricane Names: 

• Arlene
• Bret
• Cindy
• Don
• Emily
• Franklin
• Gert
• Harold 
• Idalia 
• Jose
• Katia
• Lee
• Margot
• Nigel
• Ophelia
• Philippe
• Rina
• Sean
• Tammy
• Vince
• Whitney