Monday, June 5th 2000
Caymanian Compass

Utilities hold hurricane exercise

Cayman's lifeblood-providing companies for water, electricity, and telecommunications, are gearing up in readiness to tackle anything that a hurricane might throw against them this season.

And for the first time the country's public utility firms are holding a joint hurricane preparedness exercise, on the same day, to test that readiness.

On Wednesday, teams of workers from the Water Authority, Cable & Wireless, CUC, and Cayman Water will spend hours checking all sorts of things like stocks, tools, and equipment.

"The objective is to test our hurricane preparedness plan and find any weaknesses and things that could be improved," said Water Authority director Rick McTaggart.

Mr. Mctaggart, a utilities sub-committee chairman for the National Hurricane Committee, said that in the past, and for many years, the all-important companies have carried out preparedness exercises individually.

Wednesday's "dry run" will be the first time there has been such a coordinated exercise.

It is said that the public will probably not notice the work going on and it will not interfere with normal operations.

"We are confident the exercise will go well," said Mr. McTaggart.

Speaking for his own company, he said, "We have plans in place to ensure the public will continue to receive a wholesome and reliable supply of water after any storm."

A CUC spokesperson said that during the all-day exercise departments would be simulating their preparedness plans "as if a hurricane strike was imminent in 36 hours."

"Activities will include the setting up of the command centre, which is designed to withstand winds up to 200 mph," said chairman of the companies hurricane preparedness committee Arden McLean.

"We will be transferring necessary office equipment including computers, fax machines, photocopier, the emergency telephone system, tracking maps, etc to the centre which would be the main hub of CUC's operations during and after the passing of a hurricane," he added.

CUC is a member of the Caribbean Electric Services Corporation (CARILEC), which has a hurricane action plan, designed to provide assistance to member utilities who suffer damage to their transmission and distribution systems.

Line crews from regional utilities are kept on standby to assist with the restoration efforts, said the company.

"CUC's linecrews have served in this capacity as recently as September 1999 when seven linesmen travelled to the Bahamas to assist their power company following the passing of Hurricane Floyd."

Head of technical operations at Cable & Wireless Albert Anderson said the company would be carrying out a check of all hurricane preparedness tasks, including the shuttering of buildings.

They would also be checking information systems were up to date and able to be accessed.

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