Fuel Use Case

Project Overview

A major hurricane can simultaneously disrupt fuel terminals, ports, pipelines, highways, bridges, electric power, communications systems and workforce access across multiple states.

Recent hurricanes have demonstrated that fuel shortages may be worsened by communication breakdowns, conflicting information, delayed waivers, terminal loading problems, generator shortages, driver availability, access restrictions and panic buying.

The Hurricane Fuel Coordination Network will create and test a trusted public-private communications structure before the next major storm. The pilot will use existing tools—including Signal, Zoom, email, standardized reporting templates and the All Hazards Consortium’s Sensitive Information Sharing Environment.

Central principle: Government and industry relationships, protocols and communications channels must be established before a hurricane threatens the region—not after fuel movement has already been disrupted.

Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group

The First Project Deliverable

AHC will form a small Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group composed of representatives from the founding sponsors, participating states and selected fuel-sector and critical infrastructure partners.

The working group will provide practical operational guidance, validate information needs, identify priority communication gaps, review project deliverables and help design and participate in the virtual hurricane tabletop exercise.

Proposed Composition

Four or five sponsoring companies
Selected state emergency management representatives
Fuel suppliers, terminal operators and marketers
Trucking, logistics and transportation representatives
Electric power and communications providers
Additional subject-matter experts, as needed

Working Group Responsibilities

Validate project priorities and information needs
Recommend public- and private-sector participants
Review the directory and communications procedures
Help establish Signal channel protocols
Review legal and information-sharing requirements
Help design and participate in the exercise

Project Objectives

Form a small public-private Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group.
Establish trusted relationships among government and industry decision-makers.
Identify the information companies and states need before, during and after a hurricane.
Create a vetted regional fuel coordination directory.
Establish a private Signal communications channel.
Apply the Sensitive Information Sharing Environment to support the protection of sensitive operational information.
Develop activation, coordination-call, reporting, verification and escalation procedures.
Create standard information-sharing templates.
Conduct a virtual multi-state hurricane tabletop exercise.
Produce an after-action report, improvement plan and Hurricane Fuel Communications Playbook.
Recommend a strategy for sustaining and expanding the network.

Project Benefits

Operational Benefits

Faster access to trusted hurricane information
Direct connections to government and industry decision-makers
Better visibility into terminal, road, power and fuel conditions
Faster escalation of supply-chain bottlenecks
Greater awareness of waivers and access requirements
Reduced duplication of information requests
More effective generator and resource prioritization
Tested procedures before an actual hurricane

Potential Geographic Scope

The pilot may involve a manageable group of hurricane-prone Atlantic and Gulf Coast states. The working group and sponsoring organizations will determine the final geographic scope.

Atlantic Coast

Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Gulf Coast

Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Recommended Pilot

Begin with four to six adjoining states to keep the initial effort focused and manageable.

Anticipated Participants

Fuel producers, suppliers, wholesalers and marketers
Petroleum terminal and pipeline operators
Ports and marine transportation organizations
Tanker-truck carriers and logistics companies
Convenience stores and retail fuel operators
Electric utilities and communications providers

Emergency generator companies
State emergency management agencies
State transportation agencies and energy offices
Public safety and law-enforcement agencies
National Guard representatives
Federal agencies and industry associations

Scope of Work

Form the Working Group

Establish the small public-private working group and confirm sponsor, state and industry representation.

Establish Project Governance

Develop a project charter defining objectives, geographic scope, roles, meeting cadence, milestones and decision-making procedures.

Conduct Stakeholder Interviews

Identify information needs, existing tools, communication gaps, legal concerns, activation triggers and escalation authorities.

Develop the Regional Directory

Create a vetted, restricted-access directory of government and industry representatives responsible for fuel-sector coordination.

Establish the Signal Channel

Create a private, moderated Signal channel with membership, verification, acceptable-use and escalation procedures.

Apply the SISE Framework

Establish confidentiality, information ownership, attribution, redistribution and liability-related procedures.

Develop the Communications Concept

Define activation triggers, participant notifications, coordination calls, reporting, verification, escalation and deactivation procedures.

Create Reporting Templates

Develop common formats for sharing terminal, port, pipeline, road, power, communications, waiver and fuel-supply information.

Conduct Participant Orientation

Prepare participants to use the directory, Signal channel, SISE framework, reporting tools and exercise procedures.

Conduct the Tabletop Exercise

Test the network using a realistic multi-state hurricane and fuel-disruption scenario.

Produce the Improvement Plan

Document strengths, information gaps, policy issues, legal concerns, coordination barriers and corrective actions.

Develop the Playbook

Consolidate the working group model, activation process, communications procedures, templates and exercise findings.

Priority Information to Be Shared

Fuel Infrastructure

Terminal and port operating status
Pipeline conditions
Fuel inventory and supply concerns
Tanker loading delays
Generator requirements

Transportation and Access

Road and bridge conditions
Flooding and access restrictions
Driver and workforce availability
Essential-worker credentialing
Law-enforcement escort needs

Government Coordination

Regional waiver status
Power and communications outages
Priority fuel requests
Public messaging concerns
Unresolved operational barriers

Virtual Hurricane Tabletop Exercise

The working group will help design a realistic multi-state hurricane scenario. The exercise will test how companies and government agencies exchange, verify, protect, escalate and act on operational information.

Potential Scenario Conditions

Rapid hurricane intensification
Mandatory evacuations
Flooded roads and damaged bridges
Port and terminal disruptions
Pipeline constraints
Widespread electric outages
Communications failures
Limited tanker-driver availability

Coordination Challenges Tested

Generator shortages
Conflicting terminal-status reports
Regional waiver requests
Essential-worker access restrictions
Fuel prioritization decisions
Public misinformation and panic buying
Competing government and commercial demands
Escalation of unresolved bottlenecks

Proposed Timeline

Period	Activities
Month 1	Form the Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group; confirm sponsors, participating states, the project charter, geographic scope and work plan.
Month 2	Conduct stakeholder interviews and develop the needs assessment and preliminary regional directory.
Month 3	Establish the Signal channel, SISE framework, governance procedures and information-sharing requirements.
Month 4	Develop the Hurricane Communications Concept of Operations, reporting templates and exercise scenario.
Month 5	Conduct participant orientation and the virtual hurricane tabletop exercise.
Month 6	Complete the after-action report, improvement plan, Hurricane Fuel Communications Playbook and sustainability plan.

Overall Project Deliverables

No.	Deliverable	Description
1	Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group	Formation of a small public-private working group consisting of sponsor representatives, participating states and selected fuel-sector and critical infrastructure partners. The group will guide the project, validate information needs, review deliverables and help design the tabletop exercise.
2	Project Charter and Work Plan	Defines project objectives, geographic scope, sponsors, participants, governance, roles, meeting cadence, milestones and decision-making procedures.
3	Stakeholder Needs Assessment	Identifies information each organization can provide and needs to receive, along with communications gaps, sharing limitations and escalation requirements.
4	Regional Fuel Coordination Directory	Vetted, restricted-access directory of government and industry representatives involved in fuel, terminals, ports, pipelines, transportation, power, communications, public safety and emergency management.
5	Private Signal Channel	Secure and moderated communications channel for approved project participants.
6	Signal Governance Guide	Defines membership, vetting, acceptable use, moderation, verification, escalation and participant-removal procedures.
7	SISE Participation Framework	Establishes confidentiality, information ownership, attribution, redistribution, proprietary-information, disclosure and liability-related procedures.
8	Hurricane Communications Concept of Operations	Defines pre-landfall activation, participant notification, coordination calls, reporting, verification, escalation, public-private coordination and deactivation procedures.
9	Standard Reporting Templates	Provides formats for reporting terminal, port, pipeline, road, power, communications, workforce, waiver, access and fuel-supply conditions.
10	Virtual Participant Orientation	Prepares participants to use the working group, directory, Signal channel, SISE framework, reporting tools and exercise procedures.
11	Virtual Hurricane Tabletop Exercise	Facilitated multi-state exercise testing information exchange, verification, protection, escalation, coordination and operational decision support.
12	Exercise After-Action Report	Documents strengths, gaps, unresolved issues, participant observations and lessons identified during the exercise.
13	Improvement Plan	Identifies prioritized corrective actions, responsible organizations, proposed completion periods and resource needs.
14	Hurricane Fuel Communications Playbook	Consolidates the working group model, directory procedures, activation process, coordination-call format, Signal protocols, SISE requirements, reporting templates and exercise findings.
15	Sustainability and Expansion Plan	Provides options for maintaining the working group and network, adding sponsors and states, conducting future exercises and expanding the model.

Next Steps

Convene an initial sponsor and stakeholder Zoom briefing.
Confirm four or five interested sponsoring companies.
Designate a senior representative from each sponsoring organization.
Identify participating states and fuel-sector partners.
Form the Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group.
Finalize the scope, budget, schedule and participation agreements.
Conduct the project kickoff meeting.
Begin stakeholder interviews and directory development.

Founding Sponsor Opportunity

The project seeks four or five companies to underwrite the pilot and appoint representatives to the Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group.

Requested Sponsor Commitment

Provide financial support for the pilot
Appoint a senior operational representative
Participate in periodic virtual meetings
Identify company hurricane information needs
Review communications and reporting procedures
Participate in the tabletop exercise
Review the after-action report and recommendations

Illustrative Cost-Sharing Model

Number of Sponsors	Estimated Contribution Per Sponsor
Five sponsors	$20,000–$30,000
Four sponsors	$25,000–$37,500
Estimated total pilot budget	Approximately $100,000–$150,000

Final costs will depend on the number of participating states, stakeholder interviews, legal review requirements, exercise complexity and final documentation requirements.

Role of the All Hazards Consortium

The All Hazards Consortium will serve as the neutral project convener, facilitator and manager.

Form and facilitate the Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group.
Convene sponsors, companies, states and infrastructure partners.
Manage the project charter, work plan and deliverables.
Conduct stakeholder interviews and develop the directory.
Administer participant vetting and the Signal channel.
Apply the Sensitive Information Sharing Environment framework.
Develop reporting procedures and information-sharing templates.
Design and facilitate the virtual hurricane tabletop exercise.
Produce the after-action report, playbook and improvement plan.

The project will not replace existing company, state, federal or emergency-management systems. It will connect and support those systems through a small working group, trusted relationships and common communications procedures.

Become a Founding Sponsor

A major hurricane does not affect only one company, one state or one sector. Maintaining fuel movement requires coordinated action across industries, jurisdictions and levels of government.

The All Hazards Consortium is seeking four or five organizations willing to underwrite the pilot, appoint a representative to the Hurricane Fuel Coordination Working Group and help establish this capability before the next major storm.

Schedule a Sponsor Briefing Visit AHCUSA.org

Tom Moran
Executive Director
All Hazards Consortium

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ahcusa.org

Hurricane Fuel Coordination Network

A 3–6 month public-private pilot to strengthen regional fuel-sector communications before, during and after major hurricanes.