WSJ free coverage -- scroll down a bit. If nothing else, we are coming to a fine understanding of who's essential and who's not. Gender studies majors, anyone?Since March 23, operators of New York state's power grid have been camped out in parking lots adjacent to the plants and control rooms that must be staffed 24/7 to keep New York’s lights on.
Operators work in teams of roughly half a dozen people in specialized, confined spaces. If one of them got sick, they could quickly infect others, resulting in a personnel shortage that could disrupt operations, according to Rich Dewey, chief executive of the New York Independent System Operator, a clearinghouse that oversees the grid.
Thirty-seven people are sequestered at the NYISO’s two sites in the Albany suburbs. Operators work for 12 hours, and then retire to camping trailers in the parking lots. These workers, which include cooking and cleaning staff, aren’t allowed to have physical contact with anyone outside the 37 people in their bubble.
Jon Sawyer, the NYISO manager of control-room operations, said that the employees volunteered and that "morale has been very high. People have adjusted quickly. We all understand the importance of our jobs."