THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
friday, March 19, 1976 17
United States Colleges to Host Israeli Educators
ANNUAL MEETING OF MICHIGAN TRADE UNION COUNCIL FOR HISTADRUT
ATTENDED BY PROMINENT AMERICAN AND ISRAELI LABOR LEADERS
Last week William C. Marshall, president of the Michigan State AFL-CIO
reported to members of the Council on his recent Histadrut-sponsored
trip to Israel. Also attending were, from left to right: Yaacov Cohen, new
Histadrut emissary to the United States, David Chaney, Histadrut na-
tional executive board member, William C. Marshall, Morris Lieberman,
chairman, Israel Histadrut Campaign of Metropolitan Detroit.
NEW YORK — Four
leading United States univ-
ersities will hold discussions
on major educational issues
with a group of Israeli edu-
cators and policy-makers,
headed by Minister of Edu-
cation and Culture Aharon
Yadlin, during late March
and early April.
The educational colloquia
have been organized by the
National Council of Jewish
Women (NCJW) in coopera-
tion with the Graduate
School of Education, Har-
vard University; Teachers
College, Columbia Univer-
sity; the Department of
Education and the Center
for Policy Study, Univer-
sity of Chicago; and the
Graduate School of Educa-
It is hard to teach an old
dog new tricks.
tion, University of Califor-
nia at Los Angeles.
"Educational Research
and Policy: A United States-
Israel Exchange" is the
overall theme of the collo-
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quia which are being held in
conjunction with the NCJW
Research Institute for Inno-
vation in Education at the
Hebrew University of Jeru-
salem.
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YOUR PERSONAL SHIRT
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invites you
dented. However; the underestimate in no way delayed
a single service restoration. Emergency crews were re-
quested from neighboring utilities early Tuesday eve-
ning, March 2, when approximately 16,000 calls had
been received.
Southeastern Michigan has just experienced one
of the worst ice storms in its history. In terms of disrup-
tion of electrical service, it was the worst disaster in the
73-year period during which Detroit Edison has served
the people of this area.
So severe were the effects of the storm—com-
pounded by succeeding rain, wind, and electrical storms
—that it took several days to determine the full extent
of the damage.
One out of every five customers was affected directly
by interrupted service during this period.. Few, if any,
escaped the storm without any inconvenience. Accord-
ingly, we are making every effort to insure that everyone
has the facts about the storm and the electrical service
disruption and restoration resulting from it.
How were repair priorities determined?
First priority is always to restore facilities critical to
health and safety, such as hospitals and municipal pump-
ing facilities, homes that contain life-support equipment,
such as kidney dialysis machines, and fallen exposed
wires. Second priority is assigned to facilities that will
produce the greatest number of service restorations in
the shortest possible time.
Did certain geographic areas
receive special treatment?
No. The Thumb area is the last to have complete res-
toration. That, however, is due to the difficulty of
determining the extent of the damage there, the need
for extensive rebuilding, the time involved in assembling
large quantities of materials and manpower, and the
added obstacles of mud and water.
Why has it taken so long to complete the repairs?
Beyond the factors already rioted, much of the damage
occurred—or reoccurred—during subsequent rain, wind
and electrical storms. Consequently, new outages were
still developing through last weekend. Perhaps the
whole problem is put in better perspective if you consider
that nearly one-fifth of our entire electrical distribution
system had to be restored, and in some cases almost
completely rebuilt.
How many people were involved
in making the repairs?
In all more than 5,000 Detroit Edison employees, con-
tract personnel and crews borrowed from other utilities
were directly involved, turning their maximum effort to
restoring service disruptions following this storm. We
are extremely proud of what they have done.
Suppose my estimated bill
is too high because of an outage?
This may happen. If it does, you may pay the bill and
any overpayment will be adjusted with the next reading.
Or you can call or visit your nearest Edison office and
ask us to adjust the bill based on the amount of time
you were out of service. In either case, the billing will be
corrected at the next meter reading.
What did we learn for the future?
The Detroit Edison Company has been dealing with
storms throughout its history. In so doing we have con-
How extensive was the damage?
To date we have counted more than 300,000 homes and
businesses that have been without electricity at some
time since Monday night March 1. Thus the storm has
affected directly more than one million people. Hardest
hit were Oakland County with 87,000 homes and
businesses out of service, the Thumb area with 81,000,
and the Detroit area with 79,000. To put this in perspec-
tive, a storm is normally severe if we receive 5,000 tele-
phone calls. So far we have received nearly 225,000
calls regarding this storm!
Could anything have been done
to avoid such severe damage?
Not that we know of. We have continued to place top
priority on maintaining both our electrical system and
the skills of our crews. However, there is no way to
avoid the effects on electric power lines of natural
disasters such as this.
Why were the extent of damage and
number of outages originally underestimated?
Because this storm dwarfed anything ever experienced
in the past, the "normal" indices did not apply. For
example, where circuit disruptions commonly cut power
in 10-20 percent of the homes they cover, this time they
were affecting 70-90 percent. Only detailed and time-
consuming visual inspections and data analysis ulti-
mately revealed the true figures. In addition, the problem
of fallen poles—more than 1,000—and new wire re-
quirements as high as a million feet are totally unprece-
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Why was so much electric service
out for so long?
Those who were inconvenienced are entitled
to answers. Here, from Detroit Edison, are
answers to the questions that we have been
asked most.
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stantly improved our capability. Most recently we had
instituted a centralized storm center in our Detroit
headquarters, consolidated all of our Oakland county
operations in a single divisional headquarters building,
and developed a computerized storm analysis system.
All of these—and more—helped to speed the repair and
restoration process this time. And going through this,
the worst storm in our history, has taught us much that
will undoubtedly help us to do a better and faster job of
restoring service in future storms. Also, many of our
customers have probably learned that it is wise to keep
supplies available for emergency use. Most of all, we
learned that our customers are understanding and
patient beyond expectations, good neighbors to us and
to each other, and the kind of people we are proud
to serve.
What can you do to help?
In addition to stocking up for emergencies, please con-
tinue in the future to report to us any abnormalities in
service or appearance of any of our lines or other
materials. By correcting these during non-emergency
periods, we can often avoid damage during emergencies.
How much is the repair work
costing and who will pay?
It will be several months before the full extent of
damage is known in terms of cost—partly because the
repair work to our system will continue long after all
homes and businesses are back in service. But the figure
will probably exceed $10 million—a magnitude of risk
that insurance companies have declined to cover com-
pletely in recent years. Consequently it appears that
about $1 million will be covered by insurance. Most of
the remainder is included as an operating expense by
Detroit Edison and will be considered by the Public
Service Commission—along with all other valid business
expenses—in setting rates in the future.
Can it happen again?
That's a frightening question to consider, particularly
at a time like this, but just as it happened this month it
can happen again. If it does, all of us will be even better
prepared to deal with it. In the meantime, we at Detroit
Edison will continue to make every effort to provide,
reliably and safely, needed electric energy to enhance
the lives of the people of Southeastern Michigan.
Detroit
Edison
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