Blackout Follow-up meeting March 31

From Tony Ruprecht, M.P.P. to Donna Cowan, president of DigIn

Dear Ms. Cowan,
Thank you for your well written letter regarding the hydro power cut-off on January 15th and January 16th, 2009.

I have discussed improvement / preventative measures with David O’Brian, CEO of Toronto Hydro and yes, I will call for a follow-up meeting to the one held last Thursday in Parkdale.

A number of issues should be discussed at this meeting among them: 1.) Improvements by Hydro to the Bloor / Dufferin automated transformer station. 2.) Improvements to the Emergency response communication system

The meeting date will be March 31st 2009 at 7:15 pm at Casa de Alentejo, located at 1130 Dupont Street.

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January 27 2009, From former DigIn president Ann Homan to Tony Ruprecht M.P.P. and City Councillor Adam Giambrone:

I understand that your offices are working on a follow-up to last week’s Black-out Meeting in Parkdale. I have a couple of questions/concerns/suggestions that I didn’t bring up at that meeting, because I saw that as a preliminary venting session, and didn’t want to ruin anyone’s opportunity to do that.

EMERGENCY PLAN?

Does Toronto truly have an Emergency Plan? If we have, why doesn’t every resident know their local central point to attend for information, food, water, heat, cooling? There are several publicly-owned buildings in the area of Ward 18 affected by the January 15/16 blackout – West Toronto Collegiate, Bloor Collegiate and Wallace Emerson Community Centre being the largest. These “civic centres” just shut down for the day. Are any of these facilities equipped with generators?

The Joseph Piccinnini Centre was the closest centre to me, but how to get there when its -30 and the sidewalks are covered in ice? How to get there alive if it was summer, +40 and smoggy when one is asthmatic?

COMMUNICATION

There are many means of disseminating information in an emergency (radio, wireless computers, word-of-mouth). None of these seemed to be functioning particularly well in what was, in fact, an emergency. How does one know where to go at all when there is no centralized distribution of information? I was surprised to arrive at the doors of Lansdowne Station and find them dead bolted. There was no sign on the door providing information about shelters, the extent of the outage, the duration. Nothing. Could not there have been TTC or City staff stationed there providing information, not a locked door? What did TTC staff do for the day?

PUTTING A FACE TO THE PROBLEM

Please be aware that there are problems that carried on after the power went back on.

In my building, the boiler had been off so long that it didn’t automatically re-set when the power came on at 9:20pm on the Friday. I didn’t have heat until noon on Saturday – a full 36 hours – and let me tell you those last 6 hours are 6 hours I don’t care to repeat. Why didn’t I just go to stay with friends or family? I had a commitment to stay do an overnight shift at an Out of the Cold shelter. What was I going to do? Cancel on 30 citizens who spend their days on the street?

You may have read in The Toronto Star about the woman whose house has sustained $20K + damage. She is unemployed, living on savings, and her insurer will pay for the cosmetic damage but not new pipes. The infrastructure of her house is now, essentially, worthless. How does she sell? How can she afford the repairs? She is a friend and former co-worker of Donna Cowan. Small world.

AUGUST 2003

I didn’t live in Ward 18 during the big blackout. I hear, however, that many residents of Ward 18 were without power for 5 days – because of the same hydro station, because of the same sprinkler valve malfunction. I understand that residents were promised a solution, which clearly did not happen. Why on earth is water being used as a fire retardant in an electrical station for anyway?!

This issue isn’t going away this time. It is time for the mismanagement of utilities companies to be reviewed (Where are their long-term infrastructure plans? Have they no reserve funds for capital expenditures? Every condo in the city has a reserve fund).

NEXT STEPS An Emergency Plan

1. Civic buildings equipped with generators, kitchens, etc.

2. Communications (as simple as the community bulletin board proposed at Bloor & Lansdowne? Publicly-licensed radio stations legally required to transfer from regular programming to DETAILED announcements?)

3. A magnet on every fridge with the location of our local emergency shelter/communications point

Improved Electricity Infrastructure

4. New fire retardant system at the Dufferin site (foam; CO2)

5. And, good luck… a financial and infrastructure audit of Hydro One and Toronto Hydro; pull the funds back from wherever they went and put them where they should be – a safe and flexible electrical system.

I look forward to the follow-up meeting in Davenport.

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Notes from 2009 Blackout follow-up meeting #2

March 31st, 2009, 19:15 Casa de Alentejo, 1130 Dupont Street

Attended by: Tony Ruprecht, MPP Davenport (meeting chair)

Toronto Hydro:

Blair Peperdy (engineer), Ivano Labricciosa (assett management), Ben Lapianta (V.P. management)

Hydro One:

Mike Penstone

City of Toronto:

Kevin Sack (Strategic Communications)

Adam Giambrone ( City Councillor Davenport – arrived later)

approx. 40-50 other audience members/citizens

Ruprecht welcomes the audience, introduces the representatives. (intro:) On January 15, 2009 at 10pm the area from Jane to Spadina and St Clair to the Lakeshore was affected by a power outage; it lasted about 23 hours and had “horrendous consequences” for some residents. The power outage was the result of a flood at the Dufferin and Bloor power station which temporarily shut down transformers. The flood was caused by malfunctioning fire protection equipment ( A valve in a sprinkler).

Another meeting was held with citizens on January 22 in Parkdale; this later meeting was scheduled (all this according to Ruprecht) in order to give Hydro more time to prepare answers and follow-up plans to present to citizens.

Presentation by Blair Peperdy, engineer with Hydro Toronto:

Explaining what happened on Jan 15th: There was a flood caused by fire protection equipment (a “deluge system”) which was triggered on one of the four main transformers on the upper (main) floor of the two story building. This deluge system releases about 600 gal/min of water, “like a powerful carwash;” this water is then siphoned and collected in a vat underneath the building, so that oil and other toxins in the water don’t get released into the sewers.

On January 15th, this containment pit got backed up and the overflowing water “dampened” equipment; one cell was damaged, the rest were just wet. The order in which different areas got their power back on was a function of what pieces of equipent dried soonest, not because Hydro prioritized certain areas.

(a citizen interjects with a question about the age and effectiveness of the deluge system – why not use foam? Because it’s too expensive?) The system was put into use in 1964; some parts were upgraded in the early 1990s.

Different options were explored (more below).

Three actions were taken by Hydro Toronto as the result of the blackout:

- a review of the operation of the deluge system (why did it go off?) - implementation of “stop-gap,” short-term measures - hiring of a consultant to review the fire protection system and suggest a suitable replacement system

Hydro Toronto chose a replacement system that would stop after a few minutes and “check again” for signs of the fire.

It would also consist of a mist instead of jets of water, which would use 1/3 to 1/6 (200 - 100 gal/min?) of the volume of water, and would create “a cloud that floats away”. Mist evaporates thus minimizing the amount of water that gets siphoned to the holding tank which in turn can minimize the flood conditions); this is the system that Hydro One wants to install at all of its stations. After looking at International Practices and Standards and reviewing other systems Hydro One determined the Mist System was the way to go.

The consultants (Grinnell) found that mis-operations are extremely rare in the system that malfunctioned in January 2009. They could not find damage to the ducts, or duplicate the mis-operation in a lab, so they can’t say why it mis-operated.

(citizen interjects – wasn’t this the second malfunction of a water deluge system at Dufferin?) (Ruprecht asks people to keep their questions til the end; several people in the audience heckle)

Yes, it was a malfunction in the operation of a deluge system that lengthened the blackout in this neighbourhood in the summer of 2003. However, the January 2009 blackout was caused by the mis-operation of a different deluge system. The deluge system that malfunctioned in 2003 happened because it was disconnected from its power source, causing a fall in pneumatic pressure that triggered the system; that system was replaced by the current system, which supports all 4 transformers (there are no longer two systems).

The system that mis-operated in 2009 is thought to be much more reliable; it’s not clear why it malfunctioned.

Measures being taken now are:

- the station has been manned since Jan 16, 09 - will replace the deluge system with the Mist system – by next year - to install a pump in the containment pit that would separate the water from oil and flush the water that is in the holding tank into the sewer system (to prevent it getting backed up again;) – by next year - to install water-resistant liners to protect equipment from water damage – some by June, the rest by next year - re-seal the floor so no leaks can seep to the basement where the Toronto Hydro equipment is (where the transformer for the neighbourhood is) - to implement a process that would dispatch Toronto Hydro & Hydro One crews simultaneously once an emergency system was triggered. Long-term plans - Looking into moving equipment out of the basement - Water-tight Equipment - gas insulated (totally sealed) - Quicker response

Presentation by Kevin Sack on the emergency response:

Sack was in contact with Blair Peperdy on the night of the incident; he contacted radio stations first to disseminate information and updates (but gave out some misinformation about the cause of the flooding early on.) Evacuation centres were set up; city staff were sent door-to-door to check on residents.

There were two phone lines set up, one for information and the other to report people who should be checked on (i.e. for the relatives of elderly people living alone in the city to call, to send city workers over to their houses.) There was a map of areas affected that got updated as power came back on; it was not a particularly great tool for various reasons. On the info line and on radio, the City advised people on how to avoid having frozen pipes.

Now after the fact, (Sack) advises people, including renters, to get insurance on their home and belongings, because the City can’t replace or repair private property; he also advises people to keep an “emergency kit.” There will be a package (called Our Toronto) mailed out by the City soon about emergency preparedness, which will include all of this info and other tips.

The City may work on developing a “reverse 911” emergency system that would phone people’s houses in the event of an emergency like the blackout, but it’s expensive and complicated; people can currently register their numbers to receive notifications in emergency situations (this will also be outlined in the city mail-out). They’re also looking into ways of dissimulating text messages to people who register with the city in emergency situations.

Questions from the audience:

(man 1:) – The timing of this second follow-up meeting is terrible; it’s too late so there’s not a good turnout; he’s been living in the neighbourhood for 25 years and it’s always treated like a “second-rate neighbourhood” where things are replaced only if they’re broken; on the night of the blackout there were police cruisers stationed at Salem and Bloor to protect the businesses, but not going up and down the streets to help out people in their homes;

(Sack replies/interjects: “fortunately there was no spike in crime that night;” the City knocked on several thousand doors, but it will always depend on people checking on their neighbours and being prepared as individuals;)

(man 1;) Why in six years was nothing done to prevent another blackout? Failures will always happen at Hydro despite best efforts, but why not hire personnel to be there 24/7?

(someone from Hydro-Toronto replies: electricity rates would go up if they had to staff buildings 24/7)

(man 1:) that’s not true, refers to Eleanor Clitheroe scandal, Hydro can afford it.

(woman 1:) water is the constant, isn’t it? Lots of money was lost on top of the fact that it was freezing; lots of people had serious damage to their homes; elderly and disabled people had a very hard time; the 24hr emergency number was not well disseminated on the radio; the city was not well-equipped to deal with the emergency and help citizens.

(Sack responds: as of June there will be a 311 municipal info number that people will be able to call to get information from the city; however, there will be lots of busy signals when you try that number during emergencies because the lines will be swamped; everyone will soon get a kit in the mail called ‘Our Toronto’ about emergency preparedness, making kits, etc)

(woman 2:) has an elderly mother and limited income because she’s a caretaker; had a really hard time during the blackout, no one came to their door; will you (Toronto Hydro) help citizens subsidize alternative energy sources? Do other citizens present have generators, fireplaces, other ideas? (smattering of responses…)

(Sack responds: There has been lots of investment in maintaining/reinforcing the existing Hydro system, particularly in Scarborough; Toronto Hydro’s money is best spent on its infrastructure, not on alternatives.)

Donna Cowan: There are two issues, the equipment and the city’s emergency response; if the equipment will never malfunction again according to Hydro Toronto, that’s great; the ‘Our Toronto’ mail-out is great; 311 is ok, but it will be overloaded; the radio coverage was crappy, there should have been a designated station/time to tune in for info; the city should use subway stations as info-points to disseminate information, use TTC staff to orient people; where the hell were the warming stations?? Not at Lansdowne and Bloor.

(Sack responds: he went on BT first thing in the morning (though this wasn’t very helpful for people who had no power;) check local radio stations on the hour for information; people can call the Hydro outage number for info, plus the two new emergency phone numbers for the City; yes, you are expected to look after yourself for the first 72 hrs of an emergency because there are too many people for the City to help out everyone).

(newly-arrive Giambrone responds: it’s too complicated to get licensing and a frequency by the CRTC; subway stations have 3 hrs of emergency power for lighting and ventilation, so that’s why they were still open on the night of the 15th but not the next morning – so not a good idea to have emergency shelters in the subways (??); the City’s strategy is to use a “combined approach” of disseminating info so that no one system gets overloaded; hence, the city is developing Facebook, Twitter, Blackberry and email alerts and updates…

Donna Cowan responds: “when the power goes out, it’s back to the 1920s again” – high-tech solutions are silly; post information on the subway doors if it’s not safe to let people inside without ventilation, they are still natural points for people to go to.

Donna mentioned there are regular power outages on Dewson St, Dovercourt - why? ( a few others chime in in agreement:)

(TO. Hydro responds: give us your name and address after the meeting and we’ll find out; (after more people chime in that it’s a problem for many:) I’ll look into it and forward the info to Ruprecht’s office)

(various people:) Why is there no compensation? Why is the possibility of compensation being totally discounted? Why not even credit on your electricity bill? Contingencies are made on other levels, for virtually all other services.

(Mike Penstone responds: because this was not an issue of incompetence, “we did everything we could and we didn’t do it on purpose”)

Mike Penstone/Ben Lapianta (?) on Hydro’s priorities and which areas were restored in what order:

There was a logic behind which areas had their power restored first, the decision was deliberate but not political. Businesses and the subway line serve the community; there were also registered clients - ex. People on dialysis, respiration systems, etc – who were “second in line” to have their power restored. Individuals can register with the city to be on this list.

Repeats info about prevention and recovery – water-tight covers for equipment. Over time Hydro-One will also get rid of any equipment in the basement. Better coordination between Hydro-Toronto and Hydro-One for emergency response.

As far as alternatives – heaters, etc, - it’s up to the manufacturers to develop those things and market them. Supply and demand, it’s a free market economy.

(some other citizen comments -) You can re-wire the fan of your gas furnace to plug easily into a generator; this can be a way of keeping heat on when the power goes off. There is an infrastructure deficit in this part of Toronto, because of increasing demand and changing population - there are more modern grids elsewhere, micro-level, 2-way flow of energy.

(Ruprecht invites the audience to enjoy “pollution-free coffee” and some other baffling way of describing the cake…)

(Giambrone talks for another while about the idea of upgrading/modernizing the grid – doesn’t think it’s a great idea - he is “not an expert” but he’s seen systems in Europe and Asia and knows that they are expensive. Quotes numbers. “You don’t have to remember these numbers, just remember that they’re big.”)

meeting ends – approx 9:00

Thanks to Laura Mac and Donna Cowan for meeting notes.

Content last modified on April 13, 2009, at 05:29 AM EST