1. January 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill
Michael Bellman
Engineering Services Manager

2. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill
Gas Associations collaborated to plan and conduct a National Mutual Assistance Drill
Southern Gas Association (SGA)
Midwest Energy Association (MEA)
Northeast Gas Association (NGA)
Western Energy Institute (WEI)
American Gas Association (AGA)
Three SGA/AGA member companies agreed to “Request Assistance”
Atmos Energy
Entergy
CenterPoint Energy

3. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill Objectives
For the Requesting Companies
Communicate the resource needs and request Mutual Aid
Complete written Requests for Assistance (RFA)
Evaluate offers of assistance and accept or decline the offers.

4. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill Objectives
For the Gas Associations
Communicate information about potential events to member companies.
Communicate requests for Mutual Aid to member companies.
Check the accuracy of member company contact lists.
Facilitate conference calls for member companies to share incident information and details of Mutual Aid requests.
Determine if there are conflicts in policies among the Gas Associations.

5. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill Objectives
For the Responding Companies
Analyze work force needs and supply estimates of resources that could be sent to the requesting companies.
Complete a written response to the Request For Assistance (RFA)

6. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill
Drill Scenario:
January 21, 2014 Hurricane “Alpha”

7. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – The Requests
The 3 requesting companies requested slightly over 1,000 personnel
293 utility and pipeline companies/subsidiaries and 69 Contractors and Consultants received Requests for Assistance (RFA)
58 Companies (20%) and 5 contractors (7%) submitted 64 separate offers of assistance within 24 hours after the requests were communicated. The responses totaled over 2,400 personnel.

8. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill
Lessons Learned
Survey results
Notifications
Mutual Assistance Agreements
Requests For Assistance Process
Opportunities for Improvement

9. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Survey Results
High marks for the drill as a whole

10. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Survey Results
But opportunities to improve our communication tools

11. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Notifications
“WHO YA GONNA CALL”?

12. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Notifications
Contact Lists Not Up-to-Date
20% of AGA companies changed lists before the drill
5% of notifications were returned as undeliverable

13. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Mutual Assistance Agreements
Mutual Assistance Agreements not always in place
All 3 requesting companies had active Mutual Assistance Agreements through:
AGA
SGA
One requesting company also had an active MEA agreement.
8 of the responding utility companies (12%) had no corresponding agreement.

14. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Mutual Assistance Agreements
When there are multiple Mutual Assistance Agreements, which one takes precedence?
NGA and SGA working toward a common agreement
AGA agreement is secondary to others. It is only active:
“In the absence of a continuing formal contract between a …Requesting Company and a ….Responding Company”

15. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Returned RFAs
Request For Assistance (RFA) Forms not signed.
According to the AGA Mutual Assistance Agreement:
“This Agreement is only effective between two Parties once the two Parties have signed the RFA”

16. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Returned RFAs
64 RFAs were submitted
39 (61%) were unsigned

17. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Feedback from Hot Wash and Survey
Revisions to the RFA Needed
Requesting Companies Section:
More detail on system
More detail on logistics
More detail on qualifications
AGA DC&M and UCFS combined task force to review

18. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Feedback from Hot Wash and Survey
Revisions to the RFA Needed
Responding Companies section:
Logistics of arrival and any needed release dates
Make up and qualifications of responding teams
FORM improvements
But don’t want form so long that it tries to answer every conceivable question

19. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Feedback from Hot Wash and Survey
Opportunities for Improvement within Companies
Make your lists Now
What OQ skills needs are likely?
How much help do you need for a 15,000 customer outage? How about 35,000?
How will you “buy” materials from responding companies? What procurement protocols?
Prepare Decision Templates, Checklists, and Guidance documents
Work out Union issues in advance
Incorporate the Incident Command System into your planning

20. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – RESOURCES - ICS

21. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Feedback from Hot Wash and Survey
Opportunities for Improvement within Industry
Develop common terminology for titles and skill sets
Develop guidelines for support resources to be sent with workers (Supervision, Safety, Logistics)
Work with external agencies on waiver processes
RFF (Resources For the Future) with National Petroleum Council (NPC) identifying issues for blanket waivers and those needing individualized expedited actions

22. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Waivers
Commercial Vehicle Regulations
FMCSA – Driver qualification (Medical and/or Intrastate license)
FMCSA – Hours of Service
FMCSA – Materials of Trade or placarding/shipping papers
Drug and Alcohol Testing
State – Hours of Service (where more restrictive)
State – Rules for interstate motor carrier registration
38 States use Single State Registration System (SSRS)

23. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Waivers
Other Waiver Issues
DOT OQ, Welding procedure and welder qualification, Other Joining qualifications
Mechanical fittings
Fusion
State – requirements when working downstream of the meter (relights)
Canadian / US work rules and border crossing issues

24. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – RESOURCES
Commercial Vehicle issues
Oil and Natural Gas Preparedness Handbook (API)
IS-700.A: National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduction (online instruction available)
IS-100.B: Introduction to Incident Command System, ICS-100
IS-200.B: ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents

25. 2014 Mutual Assistance Drill – Thanks

26. Michael Bellman Engineering Services Manager mbellman@aga.org
Thank You!
Michael Bellman
Engineering Services Manager