EXCLUSIVE: PECO Officials And Top Emergency Managers Meet For Closed-door Meeting On Storm Response
By Walt Hunter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Only CBS 3 cameras were there as top PECO officials and emergency managers from four Pennsylvania counties and Philadelphia met behind closed doors to discuss response to power problems during the recent ice storm.
In an exclusive interview with CBS 3's Walt Hunter outside the meeting, which was closed to the media and public, PECO President Craig Adams and Pennsylvania's top emergency manager PEMA Director Glenn Cannon explained while there were more than enough resources, communication and coordination among PECO crews and local emergency responders was problematic.
Josh Shapiro, the chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, told Hunter one suggestion was having tree-clearing crews and PECO units work as teams, so live wires could be immediately removed, allowing streets to be reopened more quickly.
This first "after action review" will now be repeated several more times until all 12 counties impacted by the storm are included. Following the final hearing, a report will be issued with findings made public.
Meanwhile, the PECO president gave his utility a B-plus grade for handling the storm, praising the hard work and dedication of crews who worked around the clock in bitter weather, battling the impact of a storm of historic proportions.
