Largest US Electric Grid Organization Addresses COVID-19
view experienced a major incapacity directly or indirectly related to the pandemic ?
Asthana No , they have not . Through all of this , I am really pleased to share that grid operations remain uninterrupted . Reliability is my number-one priority , and PJM continues to rise to that challenge — so that is one thing our region doesn ’ t have to worry about amid so many other fierce challenges around us .
At the same time , we have kept in close communication with our members , trying to act as a facilitator for best practices during the pandemic — whether it be in managing social distancing in the field , dealing with supply chain challenges or coordinating with health authorities to ensure that members have access to coronavirus testing for critical control room personnel .
And l also want to recognize the often extraordinary efforts of our members — from transmission and generation owners to local utilities and public power entities — to maintain the reliable flow of electricity to hospitals , home offices , and to every county emergency response center that has been called to action in these times .
Krieg Like nothing before it , the pandemic illustrates how much modern society relies on electric power . In fully a quarter of the states and the District of Columbia , PJM enables citizens to stay at home , maintain online communications and powers businesses and new business models . Uninterrupted power supply is critical for modern hospitals , among the heaviest commercial power users . From a CEO perspective , in what ways did the pandemic impact “ business as usual .”
Asthana The most important thing to remember about events of this magnitude is that they are bound to impact you in ways you had not previously imagined , so flexibility better be one of the skills your organization has honed over the years . The sudden , disruptive , and now long-lasting shift away from working on campus was a huge change for employees and members . Since March 13 , most employees have been working remotely — that ’ s more than 90 percent of our workforce . It ’ s a big change for all of our people , and for the people we serve , and we have been working hard to make sure that everyone has what they need to thrive in a new — and sometimes very challenging — work environment .
For those essential workers remaining on campus , we made a number of changes to our dual control rooms , most notably , creating a third control room and sequestering a team of operators for a period of time .
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