“Practice makes perfect” goes the old adage.
That’s why about 85 emergency response workers and volunteers who are part of PPL Montana’s emergency action plan for the Kerr Dam near Polson will gather Wednesday (5/9) to practice what they would do if there were a failure of the dam.
“Called a ‘functional exercise,’ this session is a realistic simulation of a disaster and offers an excellent opportunity for all of the participants to learn about each other’s roles and to ensure they are well-prepared to respond to an emergency event in the unlikely case one would occur at Kerr Dam,” said David Hoffman, PPL Montana’s External Affairs director.
“There are literally dozens of people who would need to be contacted to protect the public in an emergency, including law enforcement, media and local officials,” he said. “Practicing coordination of their efforts to make sure the public is protected and has early warning is crucial to the success of our emergency action plan.”
The drill will include participants from PPL Montana, NorthWestern Energy and other companies; the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes; the Montana National Guard; federal, state and local emergency response officials; and local media. It will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort, Polson.
Kerr Dam, which began operation in 1938, is a three-unit hydroelectric plant on the Flathead River about five miles southwest of Polson and the natural outlet of Flathead Lake. The units have a total generating capacity of about 195 megawatts. One megawatt can serve the average energy needs of 800 Montana homes.
During the coordinated exercise, participants will be stationed in areas representing their normal work environment. They will be given messages about the anticipated downstream effects of the dam breach, and will simulate implementation of PPL Montana’s emergency action plan. Representatives of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which oversees PPL Montana’s license to operate the Kerr Dam, will observe and evaluate the exercise.
PPL Montana is required by the FERC to perform regular exercises to test the emergency action plans for the company’s 11 hydroelectric facilities and one storage reservoir. Wednesday’s functional exercise is the highest-level test without full activation of field personnel.
PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).