Due to the snow storm and snow removal there will be no parking on Main Street Until Further NoticeConvergent Energy has issued the following update.
On December 19, a fire alarm at our Church Street facility triggered the activation of the emergency response plan. Unfortunately, there was a fire localized in one of the units. The fire extinguished within 24 hours and resolved without any injuries. Hazmat measured air quality as safe throughout the weekend. A physical presence remains at the site as a precaution.
We proactively inspected the location at the Bus Garage and did not find any cause for concern. We are monitoring all locations as is standard operating procedure. We are also beginning the investigation into what happened.
While there may be similarities to 2023, it is too early to definitively determine the cause of this situation. That will happen through a root cause analysis (RCA), which will take time.
In response to the RCA from the 2023 incidents, the following measures were implemented:
- Each battery storage system in Warwick was replaced with new units that met the enhanced standards below.
- Each unit was tested individually at the manufacturing facility.
- There were multiple third-party reviews of the RCA, of the battery system changes, and of the testing protocols. Those third parties physically witnessed the new battery quality assurance tests.
- We updated emergency response plans and retrained the fire department.
As a reminder, the battery storage systems ensure reliability during the most in-demand times for electricity on Orange & Rockland Utility’s electric grid.
We want to thank the Warwick Fire Department, the Town of Warwick, the Village of Warwick, several divisions of Orange County Emergency Services including Hazmat, Local and State Police, the Sheriff’s Office, and Mayor Newhard for their diligence and tireless commitment to the community.
We apologize for the disruption and concern this has caused and plan to continue to update the community as we are able.
