Be prepared
One of the biggest stories of 2011 was the weather. Mother Nature pounded Pennsylvania with hurricanes, tornadoes, historic rainfalls and early snowstorms. The result was much destruction and unprecedented electricity outages.
Going without power is uncommon in modern America, especially for three, four, five or more days at a time, as some in the midstate found themselves. People were left in the dark, literally and figuratively, as they found it frustrating dealing with electric companies to get reliable information on when their power might come back on.
It’s clear that so many powerful storms in one year is unusual, but it’s also clear that electricity (and other utility) customers deserve better.
As this newspaper reported, some customers were informed their power would be back on within hours and then it wasn’t. Others were told it would be days only to have it back on within hours. It’s difficult for a family to make decisions about what to do — whether to seek other shelter, throw out food, etc., without reliable information.
Another communication mix-up was whether families without power for multiple days could get water and ice paid by the utility companies and which local stores were participating in that arrangement.
Most of the electric companies are voluntarily making upgrades. As PPL Electric Utilities President David DeCampli said, “We are accountable to our customers and regulators to perform well even under the most difficult circumstances.”
PPL has increased its telephone line capacity by 20 percent, expanded its number of customer service representatives, looked at how to use social media technology more effectively and hired a backup provider for emergencies. It also is looking at how it can provide more accurate estimates of electricity restoration times.
These are all welcome improvements that should make the next unusual and unexpected storms in the state easier to navigate.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, which regulates utilities, also did a thorough analysis of what triggered the extended outages, how quickly they were restored and how companies dealt with it.
The PUC’s main finding is that communication with customers was an “ongoing issue.” While the PUC gathered extensive and important data, the PUC board has not been as proactive at insisting on reforms.
It sent out a list of “best practices” and recommendations, but there’s no real bite to them if companies do not follow those recommendations.
Companies cannot upgrade overnight. But there should be a certain point — perhaps in six months or certainly a year — when the PUC should be able to check back in and expect to see vast improvements, especially on emergency storm capabilities and communications.
One of the most basic recommendations — setting up Twitter and Facebook updates, for example, should not take months. The PUC’s “best practices” list should become the “expected practices” list after a certain reasonable amount of time for companies to make upgrades.
While we all hope 2011 goes down in the history books as an anomaly for the number and severity of storms, utilities and the PUC must plan as if 2011 is the new norm.
The Patriot-News of Harrisburg