MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today met with state employees, federal and local government partners, and representatives of multiple Wisconsin utility companies as he visited the GridEx V exercise taking place this week at the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs (DMA).
“The folks here at Wisconsin Emergency Management know all too well that part of preparing for the worst is identifying the best response, practicing it, and then reviewing what worked and what didn’t,” Gov. Evers said. “Exercises like GridEx are a key part of that process and offer a great opportunity for the private and public sector to come together to protect Wisconsin’s infrastructure and communities from disaster.”
GridEx V is part of a national exercise series held every two years. It is designed to practice and review plans for dealing with a long-term mass power outage, while developing the capability to respond to a cyberincident targeting the electric grid. The exercise also focuses on building partnerships between governmental and non-governmental organizations, so they can develop the policies and plans needed to respond to any natural disaster or man-made attack that affects the utility infrastructure. Wisconsin is one of the largest state participants in the national GridEx exercise.
“Preparation through training is essential in order to respond appropriately during and after a disaster,” said Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Dr. Darrell Williams. “This exercise will help us to be more effective in our operations and response to better serve the citizens of Wisconsin.”
Public sector participants in GridEx V include the state division of Wisconsin Emergency Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state Public Service Commission, the state Departments of Transportation, Health Services, Natural Resources, Corrections, Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, the Wisconsin National Guard, the State Fusion Center, Southeast Wisconsin Threat Analysis Center, and the state Division of Enterprise Technology. Participating utilities include Alliant Energy, American Transmission Company, Dairyland Power Cooperative, Madison Gas and Electric, the WEC Energy Group, WPPI Energy, and Xcel Energy.
