Is Your Infrastructure Ready?
We know it keeps energy utilities up at night: a major storm has rolled though and your customers, dependent on you to keep their lights on, are without service. You want to get everything back up and running again as soon as possible. Black & Veatch and our subsidiary Bird Electric share your commitment to these communities. We offer a safe, efficient response to damages and outages caused by extreme weather events. Whether we’re preparing for future storms or providing a rapid response during hard times, Black & Veatch and Bird Electric have the resources to plan and execute recovery strategies across the nation.
Welcoming Bird Electric to the Black & Veatch Family
To bolster our integrated construction solutions, Black & Veatch acquired Bird Electric in May 2023. Bird Electric is a U.S. self-perform electrical construction services provider with a national reach in emergency power restoration. With more than 600 employees, Bird Electric delivers grid solutions and operates in adjacent distributed infrastructure markets including renewables, electric vehicle charging, and connectivity. The company expands Black & Veatch’s existing industry relationships, capabilities, staff resources, and equipment to meet critical infrastructure demands for a wider client base.
Comprehensive Resiliency Solutions
System assessment
Climate risk modeling
Operational optimizations
Technology investment recommendation
Personnel training
Business case development
Scope, cost, schedule, and execution planning
Engineering, procurement, and construction
Asset management program
Monitoring, operations, and maintenance
Right-of-way clearance and tree trimming
Immediate mobilization of Damage Assessment Teams (DAT)
Hundreds of in-house assessment professionals
Technology-driven assessment applications
Field safety, administrative oversight, and support
Aerial drone services
24/7 crew availability and rapid deployment
Crew housing and lodging logistics
Distribution and transmission power line restoration
Pole and infrastructure replacements
In-house union and non-union subcontractors
Hydrovac and underground drilling and boring
Access to specialty equipment
Performance optimization and testing
Case Study: Supporting Utilities Through the Biggest Storms of Our Generation
In early 2023, Winter Storm Mara had widespread impacts from Texas to Tennessee – causing more than 150,000 systemwide power outages. A local energy utility hired Bird Electric as an outside contractor to augment their ongoing power restoration efforts. The utility historically hadn’t needed to request external contractor support, but the unprecedented scale of these outages and post-storm conditions of ice and fallen trees called for special expertise. Bird Electric provided essential equipment and placed more than 1,000 full-time employees in the field. Coordinating a vast number of outside resources resulted in various logistical challenges, but Bird Electric was able to expedite crew onboarding and resource allocation – enabling safe and timely restoration of power for the affected community.
Let's Talk
Black & Veatch empowers our clients to prevent history from repeating itself, preparing utilities to respond effectively in the wake of natural disasters. Our team leverages nationwide relationships to immediately mobilize personnel and equipment to affected areas. Led by our subsidiary company Bird Electric, we specialize in mitigating risk and safely restoring power for utilities (and your customers) after ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires. Contact us to develop a customized plan for your business.
Resources
Four Steps to Natural Disaster Resiliency and Response for Power, Water, and Telecommunications Providers
In 2022, natural disasters cost the U.S. $175.2 billion in damages. Floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires pose dangerous threats to critical infrastructure such as power lines, water and wastewater systems, and communications networks....
Three Climate Modeling Considerations for Utilities
Mega-damage disasters have caused $1.4 trillion in damage in the past 4 years. Can climate modeling help you weather the storm? We’re using climate modeling and other analysis to help utilities better prepare for their future. Download to review three...
Powering Success: A Strategic Guide to Energy Utilities’ Top Boardroom Priorities
The energy transition – the broad movement to cleaner energy and a heightened emphasis on electrification – is happening across the U.S. The convergence of technology, investments, and policies is spurring the need for synchronization to mitigate risk,...
Related Perspectives
Storm Resiliency and Response Checklist for Energy Utilities: Are You Ready?
Related Projects
Proactive Texas Utility Weathers 2021 Winter Storm Decade After Freeze Issues
In Texas, the scene appeared almost apocalyptic: A powerful mid-February winter storm that blanketed the state with snow, ice and record low temperatures knocked out power and heat to millions of homes and businesses for days. Dozens died, water service was disrupted, and questions abounded about the grid’s vulnerability to cataclysmic weather events at a time of mounting concerns about climate change.
Despite Superstorm Sandy, Black & Veatch Installs a Distribution Substation On Time
Creating a Complex Smart Grid Communication System
