BUTLER TWP — Managing a disaster is all about having a plan, and businesses that design a solid plan — and practice it — have an edge on the competition.

A panel Thursday morning discussed aspects of emergency preparedness, from planning to recovery, at a symposium at Butler County Community College.

Chris Panian, commercial analyst and adviser for Central Electric Cooperative, spoke about the impact of electrical outages.

“Electricity is just an essential part of our lives and businesses anymore,” he said. “Being prepared for electrical emergencies should be one of your primary concerns.”

He said outages cost the U.S. economy about $150 billion annually, according to a study by the Eaton Corp., a multinational power management company.

He said the cooperative prepares for emergencies by doing regular maintenance and upgrades and by investing in technology.

For businesses, Panian recommended installing equipment, from surge protection devices to electric generators depending on needs, to help manage surges, outages and other power problems.

Also, he added, “It’s probably in your best interest to have a good electrician on hand that knows your system well” to restore power.

Steve Bicehouse, director of Butler County Emergency Services, spoke about coordinating responses with the county’s 56 boroughs and townships.

“Not a lot of people plan for emergencies,” he said. “It seems to be something that gets left by the wayside during day-to-day operations.”

In 2013, his office responded to more than 94,000 incidents, he said.

Bicehouse said the most important part of emergency preparedness at the local level is knowing the chains of command at businesses and municipalities.

“It’s a good idea to put names and faces together before an emergency occurs, rather than try to catch up on the back end,” he said.

He explained the county is part of a regional network that is connected, and funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The county is in District 13, which includes Pittsburgh and much of southwestern Pennsylvania.

He said the counties in the district communicate regularly, share resources and work to speak the same “language” by following the National Incident Management System.

He added the Public Safety Training division at BC3 is a resource for the entire region.

Kip Deleonibus, director of that division, as well as the Public Safety Training facility on campus, spoke on how businesses can set up an emergency action plan, EAP.

“How many of you have a business plan? Is that business plan important? Does it identify risks?” he asked.

The same effort should go into developing an EAP, he said.

He provided the audience with an EAP template, outlining the basic information that is most important — key people, agencies, phone numbers, and specific plans for each type of disaster.

Bob Winters, security adviser for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Pittsburgh office, said the department is available to do free disaster preparedness assessments for all organizations.

Jeff Howard, vice president of the C.W. Howard Insurance Agency in Butler, gave an overview of commercial insurance.

“You always want to do whatever you can to prevent a disaster from happening ... but the truth is you can’t predict the future,” he said.

Howard highlighted components of different types of commercial insurance.

For property insurance, he recommended having a policy with enough income and extra expense limits to keep a business afloat during recovery. He also recommended a policy that covers numerous perils, although flood insurance must be bought separately.

Other types of policies that should be considered, depending on the type of business, include inland marine for equipment and materials, general liability, professional liability, data breach and cyber liability, and employment practices.

The event was sponsored by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, BC3, Highmark, C.W. Howard and Central Electric.