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AND FURTHERMORE, the Board of Commissioners requests that the Orange County <br />representatives to the Transportation Advisory Committee convey to the Department of Transportation <br />the above concerns and preferences about the NCDOT-preferred alternative and the associated <br />Environmental Assessment. <br />This the 21st day of January, 2003. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Commissioner Gordon said that she already spoke at the last TAC meeting in support <br />of this because it came up on the agenda. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that this is an opportunity we missed in Efland when DOT <br />ignored the request to do something similar. It has already been raised in the TIP for the I-85 <br />widening to make sure that that opportunity was not missed. <br />Chair Brown said that the Audubon Society brought this to her attention. She would <br />like to send this resolution to Mr. Galyon from the North Carolina Board of Transportation. <br />6. Special Presentations <br />a. Presentation by Utility Providers on Ice Storm Electricity Restoration Efforts <br />John Link introduced Duke Power Area Manager Scott Gardner and Richard Mabbott from <br />Piedmont Electric. He said that the County asked them to give a brief synapsis of the challenges <br />faced to restore the power. <br />Scott Gardner distributed a packet. He said that the ice storm was the mast devastating <br />one in the near 100-year history. Nearly 1.2 million customers out of their 2.2 million-customer base <br />experienced a loss of electricity. He said that in preparation for this event they had a plan and began <br />a week in advance of the storm. There were crews prepared to travel system wide. There is also a <br />mutual assistance agreement with the 17 electric utilities in the southeast United States that allows <br />them to share crews in major events. When the event hit, off-system crews arrived on December 5t" <br />from Georgia. They used over 11,000 Duke Power and contractor crew and support personnel in this <br />effort. They were able to restore service to 90°l0 of the 1.2 million customers by December 11t". They <br />answered 1.64 million calls in the customer contact center. They replaced 3,200 poles system wide, <br />549 miles of wire, and 1.2 million connectors or splices. He commended Orange County EMS <br />Director Nick Waters and John Link for communicating with customers and sharing information. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis left the meeting at 8:48 pm. <br />Scott Gardner said that they were unable to move any of their on-system crews until the <br />Monday after the storm hit. They worked closely with the State Utilities Commission to inform them of <br />their progress, and they do not plan to ask for a rate increase to cover the expenses incurred, which i~ <br />estimated to be between $115-130 million. They are currently in the process of soliciting feedback on <br />the response. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked how Duke Power established priorities of restoring power. <br />Scott Gardner said that first there is the major medical facilities, then major EMSlpolicelfire, then <br />major health and safety (water and wastewater treatment facilities), then the substations on backbone <br />feeders, then it is based on the numbers of customers on each line. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that some maps would be helpful for citizens in the future. <br />Scott Gardner said that they were looking into this and they have already received this feedback. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked what Duke Power learned from this and what they would da <br />differently. Scott Gardner said that they executed the plan that was in place as well as they think that <br />they could have. They received all of the crew that they possibly could. <br />