Lifeline Utility representatives collaborate across sectors and with leaders, scientists, emergency managers and others in regionally based Lifeline Groups. Objectives are to reduce infrastructure outage risks and minimise restoration time when
outages occur.
Regional Lifeline Groups undertake projects to reduce vulnerabilities to regional scale events. The New Zealand Lifelines Council fosters inter-regional activity and provides links to Government agencies.
The Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act requires individual Lifeline Utilities to establish planning and operational relationships with local Civil Defence (CDEM) Groups. Lifeline Utilities support the CDEM Groups by exchanging
information about their risk management processes and their reduction, readiness, response and recovery arrangements. In regions, this flow of information is facilitated by participation in Lifeline Group activities.
In summary, the collaborative Lifelines process provides a framework to support the integration of asset management, risk management, interdependencies, health and safety, and emergency management by utilities, and with communities.
The emphasis is on pre-event reduction and readiness. Event operational roles remain the responsibility of individual utilities, sector coordinating entities (SCE’s), and Government agencies.