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Episode #179: "EV Safety First and How Jackson EMC is Preparing First Responders" with David Cleveland, Vice President of Marketing, Member Services and Governmental Affairs at Jackson EMC [an Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast]

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The increasing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) on U.S. roads introduces new challenges for first responders, as EV fires burn hotter and longer than traditional car fires, demanding specialized knowledge and approaches. With more EVs on the road, addressing the safety risks they pose in accidents is becoming an urgent priority for public safety teams across the country. In this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast, David Cleveland, Vice President of Marketing, Member Services, and Governmental Affairs at Jackson EMC, shares insights into how his organization is proactively tackling this issue.

Listen in as David shares with podcast host, Jason Price, and producer, Matt Chester, the work that Jackson EMC has done in this space. By spearheading a groundbreaking initiative to train local first responders on how to safely manage EV-related incidents, Jackson EMC is leading the charge on this critical frontier. Listen in as he dives into the origins, impacts, and future expansion of this vital safety training program and discuss the broader role utilities can play in ensuring community safety in the age of electrification.

 

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Thanks to the sponsor of this episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast: West Monroe

 

Key Links:

David Cleveland's profile on Energy Central: https://energycentral.com/member/profile/david-cleveland

Jackson EMC, Training First Responders: https://www.jacksonemc.com/safety/information-and-tips/training-first-responders

Ask a Question to Our Future Guests: Do you have a burning question for the utility executives and energy industry thought leaders that we feature each week on the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast? Do you want to hear your voice on a future episode? Well starting in 2024, we’re offering you that opportunity! Head to this link where you can leave us a recorded message, including a question you’re eager to have answered on a future episode of the podcast. We’ll listen through them, pick out the right guests in our upcoming lineup to address them, and you’ll hear yourself as a part of the conversation! Energy Central on SpeakPipe: www.speakpipe.com/EnergyCentralPodcast 

 

TRANSCRIPT

Jason Price:

There are over 35,000 motor vehicle crashes every day in the US. That equals 13 million crashes annually. And while electric vehicles only represent a fraction of a percentage on the road today, drivers of electric vehicles do get into car accidents. And how first responders handle these events, given that EV fires burn hotter and longer, necessitates thinking specifically about preparing and protecting our first responders for such events. Perhaps no one is better equipped to bridge EV and safety better than our electric utilities. We will talk to an electric cooperative on the forefront of EV battery safety next on the Energy Central Power Perspectives podcast.

Matt, Jackson EMC has taken a proactive approach in training the region's local first responders on how to safely handle electric vehicle incidents, fires, and potential emergencies related to them. Can you share with us if the Energy Central community as a whole has tapped into these types of resources in the past?

 

Matt Chester: 

Jason, I think this is another one of those issues that is unfortunately flying a bit more under the radar. We see certainly immense interest from the community on EVs generally, and then specifically their technological development and the impacts of charging infrastructure on the grid. And I do think that reflects the wider experience in the utility sector, that the unique safety needs of EVs on the roads, it really, unfortunately, hasn't been top of mind to date, so no doubt, but with the proliferation of EVs across any service area, this is a topic that they need to be paying more mind towards. So maybe today's conversation will spark some more power companies to take the same initial steps that Jackson EMC has.

 

Jason Price:

Yeah, I would think so considering the growth in EVs, no doubt. You know, Matt, all the more reason to pay attention to what today's guest has to share, and it does truly sound like he and his organization are leaders in this regard. And before we dive in, I just want to say thank you to West Monroe, our sponsor of today's show. And I'm Jason Price, Energy Central podcast host and director with West Monroe, coming to you from New York City and with me as always, from Orlando, Florida, is Energy Central producer and community manager Matt Chester. And as Matt said, we're excited to welcome to today's guest, David Cleveland, Vice President of Marketing, Member Services and Governmental Affairs, at Jackson EMC. Upon learning that emergency responders didn't always know how to handle calls they took handling EVs, apprehensive about how to treat fires and other risks unique with ICE cars, David and his team took charge to launching a groundbreaking initiative to train first responders on the complexities of EV safety. And since that training, this initiative has only grown.

As utilities increasingly get into the EV space, this crossover may become even more ubiquitous for the utility sector. So we're excited to learn firsthand from David's lessons learned on this topic. David Cleveland, welcome to the Energy Central Power Perspectives podcast.

 

David Cleveland:

Thanks, Jason. Appreciate you having me on the podcast.

 

Jason Price:

David, we're thrilled to have you here. So let's start at the beginning of the story. Please share with us the inspiration behind Jackson EMC's initiative to train local first responders on EV safety. How did this program come to fruition and why did you feel it was important for Jackson EMC to take the lead?

 

David Cleveland:

Absolutely. Really began in 2022. The early part of that year, I was completing the MIP program through NRECA, our National Trade Association. And in my last session I met a gentleman named Rodney De Fouw with Great River Energy, that's the GNT in Minnesota. And Rodney told me that they had contracted with a company in Minnesota and they were providing EV fire safety training. They were actually working with their distribution cooperatives from across the state and trying to roll that training out. In the summer of 2022, the Georgia General Assembly formed a joint study committee, and the purpose of that was really to look at all facets of electric vehicles, everything from replacing motor fuel tax to EV charging stations to charging by the KWH instead of a time measurement. And one of the 19 findings from that study committee, they released their findings in December of 2022, but they indicated that there was not adequate public safety training for accidents involving electric vehicles.

And based on what I learned that Rodney and his team was doing in Minnesota and learning how this was a big issue in Georgia, I actually met with one of our newly elected state legislators, representative Derrick McCollum. Derrick and I were actually, had already scheduled a time to meet. He had just been elected to the State House, and so he's actually a former firefighter. So I brought this idea up to him and asked if he thought there would be an interest in Georgia if we could provide some training, how much interest there would be. He was extremely excited about the idea. Reached out to one of the chairs of that joint study committee and basically early the next morning called me back and said, "Hey, we would love for Jackson EMC to provide this type of training if it's possible." So that's really what got the wheels turning.

From there Derrick put me in touch with some individuals that worked for the state agencies over firefighters in Georgia, also got with the company of Minnesota Safety and Security Consultation specialist, and Rodney put me in touch with those guys. And basically we began the process of trying to bring them to Georgia to roll out this training to our firefighters in our service territory.

 

Jason Price:

That's a great journey, great story and context, so thank you for that. Let's dig into the training itself. What does the training actually look like in practice? Who runs it? How long is it and what exactly is covered in these educational sessions?

 

David Cleveland:

Safety and Security Consultation Specialists out of Minnesota, they're the ones that ran the training for us. I reached out to them, the president of the company, Jack Volz, is a former firefighter who's still in the industry, and he provides all types of training for firefighters and first responders. So the first week of July 2023, he sent one of his best instructors down to Georgia. The classroom training was about two to two and a half hours, and then we had about 30 minutes where we had a up-close look at EVs. We actually provided three or four different types of electric vehicles for each class. So in all, it was about three hours of training, each session was. So it's a comprehensive training.

When Jack began creating the curriculum for this, he actually went to the manufacturers themselves, the electric vehicle manufacturers, so he could learn as much as he could about those vehicles. So the classroom, they actually go through initially and just learn basic education about electric vehicles, how EVs are constructed. They go through and dispel some of the EV myths. They look at the basic components of an electric vehicle. Then they begin looking into emergency incidents, how they need to respond, everything from handling those EV crashes to handling EV fires, EV vehicle immersion, towing EVs, how to put out fires at EV chargers. So it's a real comprehensive curriculum that they walk through.

 

Jason Price:

David, share with us how is this all paid for? Who pays for this effort?

 

David Cleveland:

We partnered with Amicalola EMC the first summer in 2023, and we host the majority of classes. So we funded 70% of it, they funded 30%, and then we partnered with them and with another electric co-op this past summer. The EMCs funded it. We paid for the training classes as well as all the travel expenses and the facilities if there was any facility cost.

 

Jason Price:

I can imagine. I want to ask my next question around why Jackson EMC to some respect, given your role here, so bear with me on my question here, but I feel like it's important and our audience probably wants to understand it. Traditionally, utilities focus on energy delivery. So stepping into public safety training for EV incidents is a unique move, even if the connection between the power providers and EVs is there. We're living in an era where we hear a lot about the challenges utilities currently face and making sure that power is affordable and reliable. So I have to ask, and I'm sure you've been asked this, what's the motivation here to take this position and how does it align with your broader mission as a community-based electric cooperative?

 

David Cleveland:

That's a great question. I mean, you are absolutely right Fundamentally. We're in the business to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy, but one of our goals is to really improve the quality of life in the communities that we serve. We do that in a variety of different ways from providing leadership, volunteer opportunities, even providing funding. But one of the seven cooperative principles is concern for community. So while we're in the business of providing that safe, reliable, and affordable electricity, we also really want to invest heavily into our communities.

 

Jason Price:

David, you mentioned support from politicians. Can you maybe talk more about community leaders, how this has impacted on a local level? What kind of feedback have you gotten? Has it been positive, has it been negative? Just give us an idea of what the general experience is like and how has this motivated you to make certain decisions?

 

David Cleveland:

Absolutely, yes. So feedback has been incredibly positive. The first responders have provided great feedback on the quality of the training. They're very grateful that we've helped meet a need that they had. And I would say the local leaders, I would say they've echoed those same sentiments. They did not have a training resource that their first responders needed. And so because Jackson EMC has provided this program and funded this training, they have just been very thankful for that.

 

Jason Price:

What about pushback? I mean, what's the community ... I can't believe everyone's bought into this. Can you talk about any kind of pushback that you've received in the community? Any uncertainty that you've had to overcome? Just anything you could paint a picture around that would be helpful.

 

David Cleveland:

Yeah, obviously there has been some pushback. I would say widespread, it's been overwhelmingly positive, but there are some people that maybe don't quite understand it. And our position is that we believe this is a public safety concern. This training protects our first responders and the public at large. Even if you're not an EV driver, more and more are on the road every day, which increases the likelihood you may be involved in an incident with one. So we want our first responders to have the training they need to be effective and to operate safely.

 

Jason Price:

Yeah, no doubt. Tell me about, this is a technology that continues to evolve. So tell me about how you're maintaining and staying up to date on the technology, how is that working into the curriculum? Just how do you incorporate the feedback that's coming out? Are there OEMs that participate or give you information? Just as this continues to evolve as a technology, how do you incorporate some of the new materials that might be in the battery or new risks that might be presented, that you need to then make available from a safety standpoint?

 

David Cleveland:

Sure. We really rely on Safety and Security Consultation Specialists to provide that training and to keep the curriculum up to date. And they have been very intentional about that. They continue to meet with the auto manufacturers. They continue to, as they learn about incidents that happen in other areas of the country, they investigate that. They really ... We had training that we provided in the summer of 2023, and then we provided again in 2024. And some of the curriculum had changed based on incidents that have occurred, because this is an emerging technology and they are continuing to learn, but we really rely upon them to be the experts.

 

Jason Price:

You know Jackson EMC is not, say, a household name compared to an IOU, the ComEd or ConEd or PG&E. But yet you've taken this leadership role, which is really interesting. How have your fellow EMCs responded to this, and what have been the questions you've gotten from your peers and how have you prioritized being able to spread your lessons learned about this program, to those peers?

 

David Cleveland:

Well, the first summer in 2023, we partnered with another electric co-op, Amicalola EMC. And they too had a great experience, great feedback from their first responders. But there was an article that ran in Georgia Magazine last November about this training program, and I began to receive some calls from not only other electric co-ops, but even firefighters in the middle of South Georgia that said, "Hey, how can we get this type of training where we're located?" So I actually worked with Oglethorpe Power, who's our statewide for the electric co-ops, they're our statewide generation co-op, worked with them to basically gather up some other EMCs across the state. And we organized a meeting where I basically just laid out the blueprint for what we did. We talked about the pros and cons and all the details that were involved in organizing it, but I'm a big believer in sharing good ideas. There's no need to reinvent the wheel. So I really took the framework of what Great River Energy had done in Minnesota and customized it to work well for Jackson EMC, and so was able to share those ideas with other co-ops in Georgia, and they too have adopted these training classes and provided the same training to their first responders as well.

 

Jason Price:

That's great to hear. What do you envision is the next steps in this training program? Do you have plans to expand it further? Are you looking to collaborate with other organizations, other utilities? I mean, are you incorporating other sorts of safety? I mean, the models is open enough that you could add other components to the safety storyline. Can you talk about that?

 

David Cleveland:

Sure, absolutely. We've had some of the larger fire departments in our service territory have actually come to us and said, "Hey, can you provide additional training?" So I've worked with our engineering and operations team and our safety and training teams, and we're working on providing some additional training outside of electric vehicles, to our first responders. Also have been in touch with University of Georgia. They have an electric mobility summit each year. And I met with their e-mobility engagement lead, and we talked about the idea of presenting this at their next summit in the spring, either presenting this as a program or possibly even serving on a panel. So again, just really want to share what we've done and help others duplicate the efforts.

 

Jason Price:

Absolutely. And David, this conversation does remind me of a similar conversation that we've had on power perspectives with a gentleman from Duke, talking about fire safety with battery energy storage systems. So this is definitely a topic that pops its head up in different areas and mobility, certainly one of those that is long overdue in addressing on power perspective. So we're thrilled to have you on this call. Thank you for sharing this insight. And it's an important topic, particularly as electric vehicles continue to grow in popularity, even if the sales have slowed and manufacturers are slowing their production of new models, doesn't seem to be a genie that's going to go back into the bottle.

So David, we now have what on our show, something called the Lightning Round, which gives us an opportunity to learn a little bit more about you the person, rather than you the professional. Gives us an opportunity to ask you a set of questions and we ask you to keep your response to one word or phrase. So are you ready?

 

David Cleveland:

Absolutely.

 

Jason Price:

All right, beautiful. First question, dream vacation destination?

 

David Cleveland:

Caribbean destination.

 

Jason Price:

Okay. Best piece of advice you've ever gotten?

 

David Cleveland:

To have compassion for others.

 

Jason Price:

Where should someone go or what should they seek out, in your opinion, if they want to taste the best of the Georgia food scene?

 

David Cleveland:

Athens, Georgia. Home to the University of Georgia.

 

Jason Price:

We're collecting lightning around questions from past podcast guests to ask future guests. Our recent guests from AVANGRID, Brian Harrell, kept it simple. If you weren't working in utilities, what profession do you think you would've pursued instead?

 

David Cleveland:

Sports management.

 

Jason Price:

Now it's your turn, David. What Lightning Round question do you want to challenge a future guest to answer?

 

David Cleveland:

Great question. What does the future of nuclear energy look like?

 

Jason Price:

Oh, I like that. Interesting. And lastly, what are you most motivated by?

 

David Cleveland:

I would say I'm most motivated by my faith and having good character.

 

Jason Price:

Fantastic. Thanks for all those great answers. And now as promised, we want to give you the last word of today's episode. You've mentioned that co-ops seem to be at the core of these efforts as a true community organization, so what advice would you give to other utilities who might be interested in developing similar safety programs for their communities?

 

David Cleveland:

My advice would be to really investigate what the needs are in your community and find an area where you can help meet those needs. Each community's a little bit different. There are very similar challenges in a lot of communities, but there are some unique challenges in each community. So what are the needs of your community and how can you help meet that need?

 

Jason Price:

Excellent. Wise words David Cleveland from Jackson EMC. Really appreciate it. Appreciate your insight. Appreciate your time today. I know that our Energy Central regulars will have comments and questions and follow-ups, and we invite them to leave those comments in the section in the Energy Central Post section of this episode. And David, we'll let you know if there's any posted there for you to respond back and stay engaged with our audience. Until then, though, we just want to thank you for sharing your insights with us on today's episode of the podcast.

 

David Cleveland:

Excellent. Thanks for having me.

 

Jason Price:

You bet. And you can always reach David through the Entry Central platform where he welcomes your questions and comments. And we also want to give a shout out of thanks to the podcast sponsors that made today's episode possible. Thanks to West Monroe. West Monroe is the leading partner for the nation's largest electric, gas and water utilities, working together to drive grid modernization, clean energy and workforce transformation. West Monroe provides a comprehensive services designed to support utilities and advancing their digital transformation, building resilient operations, securing federal funding, and providing regulatory advisory support with a multidisciplinary team of experts. West Monroe offers a holistic approach that addresses the challenges of the grid today and provides innovative solutions for a sustainable future. Once again, I'm your host Jason Price. Plug in and stay fully charged in the discussion by hopping into the community at energycentral.com. And we'll see you next time at the Energy Central Power Perspectives Podcast.

 

About Energy Central Podcasts

The ‘Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast’ features conversations with thought leaders in the utility sector. At least twice monthly, we connect with an Energy Central Power Industry Network community member to discuss compelling topics that impact professionals who work in the power industry. Some podcasts may be a continuation of thought-provoking posts or discussions started in the community or with an industry leader that is interested in sharing their expertise and doing a deeper dive into hot topics or issues relevant to the industry.

The ‘Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast’ is the premiere podcast series from Energy Central, a Power Industry Network of Communities built specifically for professionals in the electric power industry and a place where professionals can share, learn, and connect in a collaborative environment. Supported by leading industry organizations, our mission is to help global power industry professionals work better. Since 1995, we’ve been a trusted news and information source for professionals working in the power industry, and today our managed communities are a place for lively discussions, debates, and analysis to take place. If you’re not yet a member, visit www.EnergyCentral.com to register for free and join over 200,000 of your peers working in the power industry.

The Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast is hosted by Jason Price, Community Ambassador of Energy Central. Jason is a Business Development Executive at West Monroe, working in the East Coast Energy and Utilities Group. Jason is joined in the podcast booth by the producer of the podcast, Matt Chester, who is also the Community Manager of Energy Central and energy analyst/independent consultant in energy policy, markets, and technology.  

If you want to be a guest on a future episode of the Energy Central Power Perspectives™ Podcast, let us know! We’ll be pulling guests from our community members who submit engaging content that gets our community talking, and perhaps that next guest will be you! Likewise, if you see an article submitted by a fellow Energy Central community member that you’d like to see broken down in more detail in a conversation, feel free to send us a note to nominate them.  For more information, contact us at [email protected]. Podcast interviews are free for Expert Members and professionals who work for a utility.  We have package offers available for solution providers and vendors. 

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