Critical Infrastructure Resiliency Project (CIRP)
The Critical Infrastructure Resiliency Project (CIRP) focuses on improving planning and preparedness for large scale power outage incidents through collaborative engagement with utility operators and emergency services agencies.
Phase One (FY08) of the project included electric power outage modeling to simulate a catastrophic scenario and the identification of response and recovery challenges. A series of collaborative workshops provided a forum for representatives from industry and public agencies to discuss assessment findings and identify baseline priorities for improving readiness and resiliency in the region’s electricity network. These discussions informed the Infrastructure Protection Plan for Electric Power Restoration, a coordination strategy and organization tool for local jurisdictions to support the power restoration work of utilities.
Phase Two (FY09) of the project built on the energy sector work to examine dependencies between critical systems and the implications for emergency response. Additional system modeling was conducted for water/wastewater and communications, with follow-up webinars focused on the cascading impacts of power outages and building cross-sector resiliency strategies. Targeted emergency communication system assessments provided recommendations for strengthening preparedness at specific critical facilities across the region and the creation of a self-assessment tool will facilitate further improvements at additional emergency service agencies.
Preparedness Tools
- Infrastructure Protection Plan for Electric Power Restoration — Provides a coordination strategy and organization tools for local and state jurisdictions to support the electric power restoration work of utilities, identifying the roles of relevant entities and laying out the stages of electric power restoration and system recovery.
- Executive Level Power Outage Primers — Provide decision makers with a summary of the key concepts and challenges involved in power restoration
- Rolling Blackouts Guide for Public Agencies — Guidance and operations-level tools to prepare for strategic, rotating power outages.
- Permits & Regulations Matrix — Listing of permits and regulation for which waivers are often needed to expedite power restoration.
- Communications Resiliency Self-Assessment Tool — A self-scoring worksheet for public safety agencies to evaluate and improve their readiness by measuring their systems and procedures against industry best practices.