STEP 2. CREATING A RESILIENCY PROGRAM 8 appropriately (#254). In other research, Continuum Capital investigated the undergrounding of significant electric infrastructure in 2009 and concluded that the frequency of significant storms was the primary driver of the business case or ratepayers’ justification of incurring the undergrounding expense (#76, pg. 9). The challenge at that point in time was that two significant storms were required within 10 years to offset the significant upfront cost and make the business case or ratepayers’ justification work financially. Pushing the second storm beyond the 10-year timeline broke the financial model demonstrating imprudence. Today, given the expectation of more frequent and severe storms, the 2009 conclusions may now prove incorrect. Other researchers, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have collected and published records showing how the frequency, severity, and societal cost impact of extreme weather events across the United States are increasing over the past four decades (Exhibit 2.2). NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI) defines “severe weather” as “a destructive storm or weather” such as “thunderstorms, hailstorms, and tornadoes…and more widespread events such as tropical systems, blizzards, nor’easters, and derechos (#228).” These severe and extreme weather events impact different geographies at different levels and demand different strategies and tactics. An increase in these types of severe or extreme events, as is described in Exhibit 2.3, will expose assets and infrastructure to different risks or hazards depending on the geography in which they are located. These different risk exposures will drive significantly different resiliency plans and, as previously discussed in Exhibit 1.2 Resiliency Investment Selection Model, these strategies will be tested for viability. Exhibit 2.2 Billion-Dollar Disaster Event Types by Year CPI Adjusted Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2018a)
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