Q&A - Pandemic (H1N1) 2009
Vattenfall well prepared for the pandemic
How is Vattenfall planning for a pandemic outbreak?
With nuclear power for example, is it possible to have secure power production during an outbreak with many employees on sick leave?
It is very common with poor weather conditions in the Nordic countries during fall and winter. What happens if the flu spread escalates while there is a severe storm damaging power distribution?
Many organizations will recommend vaccination as a mean to support their staff. What is Vattenfall’s opinion on this?
Vattenfall is a large company with operations in many countries. Do you have travel restrictions?
How is Vattenfall planning for a pandemic outbreak?
Vattenfall has a specific “Pandemic Team” to secure and ensure appropriate planning for our daily business and operations. The pandemic team started its work already in May 2006, following alarms about the Bird flu.
Today, we have updated our plans to fit the current situation regarding the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (commonly known as Swine flu), with new policies and recommendations for our business. Vattenfall security organization is responsible for this work.
We are continuously monitoring and following the progress of the virus, in close cooperation with central and local authorities in each country.
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With nuclear power for example, is it possible to have secure power production during an outbreak with many employees on sick leave?
Vattenfall has extensive plans in place regarding security of supply and nuclear safety in case of a pandemic outbreak. Within the nuclear utility sector each power plant has its own regulations to follow due to the actual technical design and required “know-how”. Critical business operations to be prioritized in case of pandemic waves, including key functions and personnel to run the operations, as well as necessary internal and external support functions are identified.
There is no risk that the electricity will “run out”. Would the production in for example a nuclear power plant decrease, it would be compensated by an increased production of another kind of power, for example hydropower or lignite power. The system always works this way.
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It is very common with poor weather conditions in the Nordic countries during fall and winter. What happens if the flu spread escalates while there is a severe storm damaging power distribution?
Our everyday business contingency planning covers the annual incidents caused by weather conditions. If an incident on a larger scale would occur parallel to a large number of people being on sick leave, it be a challenge but never the less one we will have to handle. Possible solutions include reorganizing existing operational personnel within the company.
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Many organizations will recommend vaccination as a mean to support their staff. What is Vattenfall’s opinion on this?
Vattenfall monitors the vaccine production in our markets as every country has their own distribution plans for which societal groups are to be prioritized.
Vattenfall has prepared a priority list of key personnel if needed. The personnel on this list are prioritized from a functional and operational perspective, to secure power and heat production, as well as distribution.
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Vattenfall is a large company with operations in many countries. Do you have travel restrictions?
We follow issued recommendations by authorities such as WHO and local bodies. We have no travel restrictions at the moment. However, we do advise our co-workers to carefully consider deferring non-essential travelling. We also encourage electronic meetings instead, for example telephone and videoconferences.
For more information, please contact
Maria Parent, Media Relations Manager, phone +46 8 730 65 50
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