Emergency Preparedness

We maintain emergency preparedness through our Integrated Preparedness Program (IPP). This program trains employees how to restore essential business operations in the case of natural disasters or other crises. IPP brings together our emergency response, crisis management, business continuity, information technology, external affairs and security services functions to ensure a coordinated emergency response.

In 2008, we successfully responded during two hurricanes, Gustav and Ike, which affected Louisiana and Texas. We were able to minimize storm-related disruptions to our customers and quickly return to normal operations.

We conduct desktop training and regular drills to ensure response readiness to various scenarios. Examples of drills conducted include:

• In 2009, in Northeast US, we conducted a drill with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration that simulated a terrorist event.
• In 2010, at the corporate level, we conducted a full-scale emergency drill to test corporate crisis response preparedness. This drill tested the function of our Corporate Crisis Communication and Response Plan, the US Transmission Emergency Response Plan our emergency response center and regional and local operations’ response.