We at Invenergy Services take our role as power providers during the COVID-19 crisis very seriously and are proud to serve our communities during these times of uncertainty and stress. The majority of our projects are deemed critical infrastructure under North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) guidelines, and the Invenergy Services team considers it our duty to continue to operate our wind, solar, natural gas, and storage projects with the efficiency and professionalism we are known for. The pandemic has already caused major disruptions across all aspects of society, and it is in the national interest to make sure the power stays on for hospitals, essential businesses, and the wellbeing of everyone at home.
All the staff at the facilities we serve are vital to the continued operation of our projects and it is critical that we do what we can to keep them insulated from the virus as much as possible as they work onsite. In order to do so, Invenergy Services has implemented procedures related to the COVID-19 outbreak in addition to our routine safety and emergency protocols.
We have implemented the following COVID response procedures:
- Established cleaning procedures in common areas, such as cleaning all common areas with disinfectant wipes, provide hand sanitizer to all employees, etc.
- Restricted site access only to approved personnel and keeping personnel quarantined apart from contractors working onsite
- Having our techs working on an “on-call” basis and all non-essential employees are required to work from home
- Maintaining enhanced communication with each site to remain focused, underscore the importance of following these protocols, and address any questions that may arise during this period of quarantine and social distancing
All of our sites have rigorous emergency protocols already in place, with our techs trained to help themselves, their colleagues, and visitors in the event of an emergency.
- All sites perform quarterly emergency and rescue drills
- All sites work with local EMS to coordinate on emergency response drills once a year
- All sites maintain local contracts for airlift services in case of an emergency
- All wind techs are trained in advanced first aid and are trained in CPR and the use of defibrillators due to remote work locations
- Our techs are also specially trained for “rescue at heights” given the 300+ foot height of our wind turbines and are retrained annually
- All rescue/response equipment is inspected on a monthly basis
Additionally, we have implemented some safety measures in both of our Illinois control centers.
- Staff is separated across both control centers to limit exposure
- Shared workstations within both control centers are cleaned more often and more aggressively
- Contingency plans have been put into place to ensure continuity of operations in the event one or both facilities are infected
- Backup personnel are on call to fill in for sick employees
We again want to extend our gratitude to our technicians working at sites around the world for their hard work, dedication, and expertise.