Introduction:

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has released the disaster management plan (DMP) for the power sector in a bid to evolve a proactive and integrated approach to strengthen disaster mitigation, preparedness, emergency response, and recovery efforts.

Need of DMP for the power sector:

• The power sector is one of the most critical infrastructures of the country.
• Any disruption due to disaster can create hardships for human beings as every aspect of human life is directly or indirectly associated with the lower Industry.
• The DMP comes as the government is investigating instances of land subsidence in the Uttarakhand Joshimath.

A disaster management plan for the power sector should include the following:

• Risk assessment: Identify potential hazards and assess the risks associated with them, such as natural disasters, human-made disasters, and cyber-attacks.
• Emergency response plan: Develop an emergency response plan that outlines the actions to be taken in case of a disaster. 
• Backup power supply: Ensure that backup power supplies are available in case of power outages.
• Regular maintenance and testing: Regularly maintain and test equipment to ensure that it is functioning properly and can withstand potential disasters.

• Training and awareness: Train employees on emergency procedures and raise awareness among stakeholders about the importance of disaster preparedness.
• Coordination with other agencies: Coordinate with other agencies, such as emergency services and local authorities, to ensure a coordinated response to disasters.
• Continuity planning: Develop a continuity plan that outlines the steps to be taken to ensure the continued operation of critical infrastructure during and after a disaster.

Highlights of the DMP

• The DMP provides a framework and direction to the utilities in the power sector for all phases of the disaster management cycle.
• It is intended to guide all agencies within the sector with a general concept of potential emergencies and roles and assignments before, during, and following emergency situations.
• To estimate threats to power infrastructure, it is pertinent that fragility and vulnerability analysis is carried out for civil structures like buildings and foundations in transmission and distribution facilities.

NIDM key takeaways

• Comprehensive electrical safety audit by a fire safety professional. 
• Electrical fires can be prevented by good design and installation work, equipment fir for purpose and operating environment and proper O&M practices. 
• Improve the understanding of disaster risk and vulnerabilities. 
•  People must be educated about the danger and how to minimize them if not avoidable. 
•  To consider the effects of climate change, infrastructure design standards need to be enhanced. 
• Technologies for generating and storing renewable energy are distributed and adaptable, and they offer resilience to climatic shocks.
• Redundancy and diversification are key to increasing the power sector resilience. 
• Renewable energy can play a valuable role in power sector resilience through redundancy and energy diversification.
• We should develop resilience in the power sector as resilient infrastructure so that it should not fail in any disaster situation and even if it fails, we can recover and restore the power as quickly as possible. Resilience planning is iterative, and plans have to evolve as contexts and threats change.