Tips & News - August 2015

Storm feature

Reprinted from Storm Reconstruction: Rebuild Smart by permission of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association.

In recent years, the U.S. has been faced with several different types of natural disasters from devastating floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes to Super storm Sandy. These disasters have made us rethink how to ensure

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the safety and reliability of our infrastructures and facilities.

As a result, in 2008, article 708, Critical Operations Power Systems (COPS)was added to theNFPA70National Electrical Code ® (NEC) to provide mission critical facilities with a higher level of protection so that in the event of an emergency, these facilities will still function. The NEC mandate applies specifically to vital facilities that, if destroyed or incapacitated, would disrupt national security, the economy, public health, and safety. These facilities include hospitals, police and fire stations, emergency call centers, and government facilities involved in national security. In some cases the directive is applied to a specific area within a facility which is the designated critical operations area (DCOA). In others, the entire facility will be designated as a critical operations area. However, implementing some of the protective measures included in the NEC mandate can be very expensive. How can organizations that are not required to comply with it determine which of these measures is most worthwhile? A reliability assessment will enable facility managers to think beyond getting the power equipment back up and running. It can lead to longer term considerations such as the reliability of the power distribution system and all utilization equipment, including HVAC, pumping, and communication systems supported by power equipment. Facility managers must consider the reliability of power and critical equipment relevant to environmental factors, as well as possible external threats and how to function and maintain the appropriate and necessary levels of reliability.

HUBBELL POWER SYSTEMS |

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