GineersNow Power Water July2020, COVID-19 coronavirus, quarantine water tanks, pipes, pumps, dewatering, wastewater, water treatment, utilities, utility, desalination, reverse osmosis, filtration

E D I T O R ‘ S N O T E
A
few months have
passed since the
initial coronavirus
outbreak spread
across the world and caused
the countries to implement
extreme albeit completely valid
rulesets such as community
quarantines, nationwide
lockdowns, mass testing
operations, and medical
frontline endeavors, among
other methods to buttress the
coronavirus’ spread. Many
industries as well are reeling
from the adverse effects of the
virus, doing everything in their
power to remain working in a
slowly collapsing economy.
After Covid-19: Power and
Water Industry
One such industry that faced
multiple consequences thanks
to COVID-19 is the utilities,
specifically power and water
industries.
Now, safety has always
been at the forefront for the
utilities industry. Needless
to say, it is a core principle
by which they work and live.
Amidst this global pandemic,
making certain that critical
lifeline services are smoothly
operating and are not
interrupted has created a
mountain of a challenge. The
near-term decisions utility
leaders make today to protect
their employees, communities
and business from COVID-19,
will undoubtedly impact
future operations. In order
to guarantee enterprise
resiliency in the present until
the future, ensuring the safety
of people and going the
extra mile to serve customers
while anticipating and
minimizing financial impact
is the industry’s paramount
objective.
Here then are 3 steps to adapt to
an evolving environment today:
1. Utilities must organize their
response to COVID-19.
This means the figureheads
of the utilities industry must
come together, set clear
key performance indicators
to measure the lessening
of COVID-19-positive
cases, and appoint an
organizational commander
to oversee the endeavors.
2. Utilities must create a future
planning and proofing
team in order to champion
any protective endeavors
to combat or whittle any
forthcoming crisis, medical
or otherwise.
3. Utilities must identify new
opportunities to partner
with stakeholders because
as this crisis has taught us
all, many connections are
lost. That being said, new
ones must be forged in the
ashes of this pandemic.
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