Hurricane season starts June 1, and Delmarva Power sat down with statewide emergency management agencies and others Wednesday to discuss how to get out in front of responding to weather-related disasters.
Delmarva Power Vice President Glenn Moore says his company’s Crisis Information Center at its Newark headquarters coordinates timely information from incident management teams and emergency management officials to prioritize repairs and get the power back on as quickly as possible
"But as important," Moore insists, "is letting our customers know when the power is coming back on. Managing one’s life, their parent's life, if they're watching somebody elderly - it's very important to know 'Am I going to be out for a day or two days or overnight, so that I can plan my life?'"
AARP of Delaware, FEMA and the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management were among the groups on hand discussing how to cope with power outages, limited resources and public health concerns caused by severe weather situations.
They joined the American Red Cross and Delmarva Power in emphasizing preparedness.
Red Cross Delmarva Region CEO Pat Delaney advised being ready by assembling an emergency kit and having a household response plan in place for when severe weather strikes.
He added that proper information is vital to ensuring safety, advising people to visit "valid sources: media outlets, government emergency management [or] Red Cross social media outlets; ensuring that what you're hearing is accurate and verified. The misinformation is sometimes as dangerous as whatever the emergency may be."
Outages can be reported on the Delmarva Power's website, while customers and emergency management partners can access estimated repair times and other information from anywhere with their smartphones.
