Transcripts For CSPAN3 Hurricane Infrastructure Recovery Go

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Officials with the energy department, the army corp of engineers and the Government Accountability office testify before the house subcommittee on energy. Committ. Subcommittee on energy will now come to the skprd torder an chair will recognize himself for an opening statement. This years atlantic Hurricane Season was unprecedented. Four named storms slammed into the guflf, puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. They caused catastrophic damage across the country. While texas and florida are further down the road to recovery, a humanitarian cries is infolding in puerto rico. A number of colleagues from this committee have been down there. And the u. S. Virgin islands where the majority of folks still remain without power for more than a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall. Todays hearing will review the Emergency Response and Energy Recovery efforts in the wake of those storms. It will help us begin to understand what went right and what went wrong. Lessons can be learned in how we as policymakers can identify gaps so that when the next hurricane hits we will be better prepared. As a result of Hurricane Harvey, more than 275,000 customers lost power in texas and severe flooding also affected the supply and delivery of transportation fuels. Compounding response challenges and Energy Impacts across the gulf. Hurricane irma left more than 1 million customers without power across puerto rico and the Virgin Islands and more than six million customers in florida and georgia and South Carolina also lost power. Two weeks after irma Hurricane Maria delivered the knockout punch. Wiping out the entire grid of puerto rico and the virgin i lands. More than 3. 5 Million People were without power. Most disaster is performed by local authorities who provide resources, infrastructure and support and coordination and by industry which provides the expertise and manpower to restore Energy Supply and services. And as we witnessed nightly in the news, recovery on the islands has been painfully difficult and slow. Questions are mounting regarding the role of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and its initial reluctance to request mutual aid from mainland Electricity Companies that were standing by ready to assist immediately after the storm. Rather than request assistance, prepa took the steps to reward the contract to an unknown company which it then canceled. The deals signed immediately following the storm are now the subject of an investigation by this committee as they should be. Today were going to hear from two Witness Panels which will provide perspective from the federal level, the state lfl and the industry responder level. As weve seen in recent weeks across the areas affected by the storms, each disaster creates its own set of problems. Todays witnesses can help us understand the factors that contribute to these problems and what we may do to ensure a more Effective Response Going Forward. Theyll also help us understand the challenges that they face as they move energy and product in the aftermath of devastating storms. While weve seen alarming devastation, we have also seen some aspects of the response go right. To this point by most accounts department of Energy Support functions have gone well. Coordination of regulatory systems or waivers during the disasters has gone well. Their informational assistance has been consistent and helpful to government and industry alike. And well hear this morning about the Strategic Petroleum reserve which during harvey served to provide emergency pe well also receive an important update on the various restoration efforts to bring power back to the folks of puerto rico and the virgin i lands. It will be helpful to understand what have been the barriers to a more rapid recovery, what we are learning about coordination of Emergency Response and restoration on these territories and what is needed more from us. The congress. How can we apply these lessons Going Forward. This hearing should help us answer some of those critical questions and i yield to the Ranking Member of the subcommittee my friend gentleman from the illinois mr. Rush. Thank you, mr. Chairman for holding this important hearing. Examining the 2017 hurricane 2017 rather Hurricane Season and the Emergency Response and Energy Infrastructure Recovery Efforts surrounding these emergencies. Mr. Chairman, i hope this will not be a one and done hearing. This years historic and devastating Hurricane Season, there remain many critical and related issues that must be addressed. While i appreciate having witnesses here to discuss the gao report that we requested last year, the fact of the matter, mr. Chairman is that as we speak, there are still many millions of american citizens living without electricity and many are facing life and death conditions for over a month now as the hurricanes harvey and irma and maria shattered their lives and devastated their livelihoods. Mr. Chairman, it is my hope that this hearing will shed light on what additional steps need to be taken quickly to restore power while also assuring those residents in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin island specifically and their government and that we will provide the same exact same effort and the exact same attention to helping them as we will for any other american citizen. Mr. Chairman, as you know, more than six weeks after Hurricane Maria initially made landfall, nearly 70 of puerto rico and 80 of the u. S. Virgin islands still, mr. Chairman, still dont have the power needs for everyday basic services such as lighting their homes, treating drinking water, preserving food and medicine or even making emergency calls among other critical problems that are so necessary for normal and daily activities. While attention must be focused, mr. Chairman, on providing essential resources to protect the safety of individuals, over the long term we must also help to rebuild the energy, infrastructure in a way that makes us stronger and more resilient against extreme weather conditions. Mr. Chairman, hurricanes irma and maria [inaudible] to extreme weather while some communities expected to remain without power for even months on end. And a Study Released last week concluded that the outages caused by Hurricane Maria resulted in 1. 25 million hours of electricity to households in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands. Mr. Chairman, making this minute the nations largest blackout that was ever recorded. We can find no event in recorded u. S. History where there were as many people without power for as long as it has incurred over the past month in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands the report is stating. Mr. Chairman, i look forward to engaging todays distinguished panel on the promise that it has been made. Additional steps that must be taken to immediately get the power back on as well as ways to rebuild more resilient and sustainable infrastructure and that is less vulnerable to an extreme condition that we have witnessed and that we certainly will witness in the future. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair now calls upon the chair of the full committee mr. Walden for five minutes. I thank the gentleman and acknowledge his uniform today. 2017 Hurricane Season has been among the worst in recent memory. Four major storms have wreaked havoc all over our gulf coast more recently in puerto rico and the virgin island. While fuel supplies and electricity have been restored on the mainland a humanitarian crisis continued to unfold in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin i lands. I think you hear that from both sides of the aisle here. This is a real, real serious situation we all care deeply about. As we often do following Natural Disasters, its not uncommon to see stories in the news about heroics and acts of personal sacrifice and great kindness. We trust that our policymakers can put aside their differences to do whats in the best interest of the country. Weve already passed initial supplemental Disaster Relief funding, this congress, but we understand that much more is needed and we will continue to work with the administration and our colleagues to that our fellow citizens can get the Additional Resources they need to recover and to rebuild. In this committee we roll up our sleeves and we search for solutions to the various challenges that present themselves after a major disaster. We want to make sure that the agencies under our jurisdiction are well prepared and that you all are responding appropriately both now and that we learned from lessons of bad incidents and are ready and even better prepared for the next storm or the next disaster. If youre lacking certain authorities, let us know. We want to know about these things so we can help fix them. Were all in it together. We want to be practical and we want to be forward thinking. How can we help ensure the relevant federal response is well coordinated with state, local, and industry responders . How do we ensure zigs are madec made to guarantee taxpayer funding provide benefits for those in need. If we need to rebuild, what can because of this committees Broad Committee over Public Health, the supply and delivery of energy, we will be gathering facts, perspectives and Lessons Learned. We have heard from witnesses on an oversight and investigation subcommittee hearing about hhss Public Health preparedness and responses to the hurricanes. Well soon examine the response to environmental hazards and telecommunications as well. Today were focusing on Emergency Response and Energy Infrastructure recovery. Both for fuel supply and the electric grid. This year weve already been confronted with several different challenging situations. Historic flooding in houston. Possibly the greatest evacuation in floridas history. Energy crisis in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands that could leave millions without power or estimated months to come. We may take for granted how lucky we are that we can flip a switch and the lights come on. For our citizens in puerto rico and the u. S. Virgin islands, however, almost every aspect of their lives has been deeply disrupted. Hospitals without external generators cannot serve their patients. Getting that power restored is critical. Water Treatment Plants without power threaten the health of individuals that rely on them for safe water. And those who live in remote areas that do not have access to fuel are cut off even from the most basic of necessities. The Witness Panel today will provide important perspectives about the state of current fuel and electric supply Recovery Efforts. What worked, what could be done better under urgent circumstances, the hurricanes and what may be considered in the future. I expect this will be an excellent hearing for us to identify vulnerabilities and assess what is needed to better prepare and respond to future storms and disasters. With that i want to thank you for being here today. I appreciate the testimony that youve already submitted. Thanks for the good work you and your teams are doing out there. We really want to learn from you and be even better prepared when the next disaster hits. With that, unless anybody else on our side seeks the remaining minute, i would yield back. I might ask a question of the vice chair of the committee. Are you intending to wear that jersey on the house floor when we take the picture of the full house this afternoon . Chairman, that is not an issue. I tried to wear this about three weeks ago and i was banned, so this will not be in the picture. Just curious. Then well always be able to find you forever in that picture. Mr. Chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. Gentleman yields back. Recognize the Ranking Member of the full committee mr. Pallone from new jersey for an opening statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman. For convening todays hearing, reviewing the disastrous 2017 Hurricane Season which has wreaked havoc on many parts of our country. I am grateful to former senator of puerto rico and mr. Rhymer of the Virgin Islands for coming here today but i am disappointed the committee did not receive a response to its out reach on the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. I have serious concerns on how prep also how they have managed or more accurately mismanaged the grid in puerto rico over the years. Now today we are focusing on the Energy Infrastructure Recovery Efforts and i must say that accounts from the areas affected by these storms paint a dire situation that completely contradicts the often rosy stories that comes from the white house. The truth is taken together they are currently experiencing the largest blackout in American History and that nightmare for our fellow citizens is far from over. The central question for us today should be why is it taking so long to restore power in puerto rico and the virgin i lands and who is actually in charge of the effort to restore power to puerto rico. No one person or entity seems to be in charge. Its fl i want answering and so do many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Im also troubled by the maze of contracts with Numerous Companies for overlapping missions of patchwork that is failing to turn the lights back in puerto rico. And that needs to change now. Im deeply concerned by the terms of the contract prep assigned with whitefish which went so far as to bar prepa from holding the companies liable for delayed completion of grid repair work or letting the government audit their work. The governor has since taken steps to have the whitefish contract canceled, but we need to learn more about how these contracts are being awarded and whether the bidding process is truly competitive. Thats why chairman walden and upton and Ranking Members have rushed and requested documents and a briefing from whitefish so we can learn more about how that trouble materialized. It had no involvement in the development of this contract. My question is why not . The federal government should be engaged in the krkicontracting process for which he was taxpayers will ultimately foot the bill. The federal government needs to step up and take charge to expedite power res tortation efforts. Missions like this are why we have a strong federal government. If we cant get the power turned back on soon, more people are going to die. This is a humanitarian crisis and our government owes it to the citizens in these territories to do everything we can to fix it. While restoring power is urgent, its also be rebuilt with more modern Energy Technology focused on increased resiliency, Energy Efficiency and renewable energy. Replacing the old grid as it stood before the storm will cost taxpayers more money and do nothing to make electricity in puerto rico more reliable or affordable. So as Congress Prepares the next merge spending bill, we must make changes to current law to enable the rebuilding to consider in a way that lays the ground w groundwork for constructing a modern lick tris tee grid. We must consider ways for turning around puerto ricos situation including alternative to prepa for overseeing the rebuilding of the grid and all ideas from privatization which im not really a fan of but from privatization to the creation of a new federal Power Marketing administration. All these have to be up for discussion. Whatever road we go down must have buy in from the puerto rican people and the government. I dont know if anybody wants my minute that i still have. If not, mr. Chairman, ill yield back. Gentleman yields back. At this point were ready for the test