PHILADELPHIA – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region III, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PANG), today signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for emergency power. This MOU clarifies the roles and responsibilities of each agency during an emergency power mission to help coordinate and strengthen the Commonwealth and FEMA Region III’s ability to provide alternative power restoration across the Commonwealth when requested.
The purpose of this MOU is to establish a concept of support that will assist FEMA Region III, PEMA, and PANG with identifying the roles and responsibilities of all parties during a response that requires an emergency power mission. “This MOU strengthens our partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and our ability to rapidly respond when requested,” stated FEMA Region III Regional Administrator MaryAnn Tierney. “With emergency power, time is of the essence and this MOU empowers us to act quickly and in closer coordination with our Commonwealth partners.” Following a federal disaster declaration and request for emergency power assistance, FEMA’s primary role is to deliver generators, provide an Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) to coordinate with the Commonwealth, and work closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on installation, maintenance, and repair, among other responsibilities.
PEMA, as the lead agency for the Commonwealth in disaster response, coordinates with county and local officials on needs, identifies the priorities for generator placement, and provides overall coordination of the Commonwealth’s response efforts. “This is part of our continuing effort for unified preparedness at the state level,” said the Director of Pennsylvania Emergency Management, Richard D. Flinn. “For entities with special needs, such as medical care facilities, power outages can be a matter of life or death.”
The PANG takes responsibility for transporting generators between the initial staging areas to either the Commonwealth staging area or installation site.
"The Pennsylvania National Guard provides tremendous logistical capabilities during any natural or man-made emergencies within the Commonwealth or surrounding states,” said Brig. Gen. Tony Carrelli, Pennsylvania’s Adjutant General. “Agreements like this help foster the already great relationship between the National Guard, PEMA, and FEMA and will help us expedite our planning and response times during domestic contingencies. Providing alternative power sooner greatly assists any community's recovery during an emergency."
By clearly delineating these responsibilities, the MOU solidifies each agencies role in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an incident and meeting an emergency power need.
To learn more about each agency’s role, mission, and functions, please visit: www.FEMA.gov; www.PEMA.pa.gov; and www.PNG.pa.gov.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.
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