"New York's historic decision to require workers to live at facilities operating the state's power grid during the novel coronavirus pandemic may be a test case for the rest of the nation.
For the first time, the grid operator has asked more than three dozen workers to live 24 hours, seven days a week at two control centers in the suburbs of Albany, N.Y.
As part of a multilayer plan to ensure the state's power remains flowing, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) says two crews can live at the sites in East Greenbush and Guilderland, N.Y., indefinitely. In the rare case that both operating rooms become infected at the same time, the local utilities — Consolidated Edison Inc. and National Grid PLC — would help operate the grid.
'We have never done this before. We drilled for this stuff, we've had plans in place for different types of sequestration,' Richard Dewey, NYISO's chief executive officer, told E&E News. 'This is pretty unprecedented in our history.'"
Hannah Northey and David Iaconangelo report for EnergyWire March 30, 2020.
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