Power Company Avoids Freeze During Ice Storm
When an ice storm knocked out power lines, 8,000 utility poles and all means of communication in rural New York, Niagara Mohawk responded with creative communications and continues to follow through with customers months after the January disaster.
The electric and gas company's grassroots efforts is an excellent example of quick response when the unexpected severity of a crisis upends an established and storm-tested crisis plan.
Imagine an ice storm so big it affects 100,000 utility customers across 7,000 square miles for three weeks. Such a severe and prolonged ice storm in northern New York caused a virtual shutdown of all TV, newspapers, radios, phones and even the Emergency Broadcasting System for several days, making it all but impossible for Syracuse-based Niagara to communicate with its customers.
Niagara execs had dealt with storms and bad weather before, most recently in 1995 in the form of deadly thunderstorms. But the size and impact of this storm overwhelmed parts of its crisis plan.
"We have various plans in place, including several PR/communications people on call and a facility designated in advance to set up crisis operations," says Nick Ashooh, VP, public affairs and corporate communications for Niagara. "Typically they are phased in. A typical ice storm will affect a localized area. With this storm, we had to throw out the book and start all over from scratch."
In preparation, Niagara initiated communications with its customers before the storm hit. It bought radio ads, starting January 7, preparing the population for the power outage with storm-related advice. A few days after the storm arrived Niagra followed the ads with radio public service announcements, updating the public on utility restoration efforts and alerting customers to storm-related dangers lurking outside. The total cost to rebuild systems from the January storm is in excess of $125 million, in contrast, the thunderstorms of '95 cost $20 million. Niagara media costs were estimated at $110,000 for the three weeks surrounding the January storm. And almost 5,000 workers, drawn from Niagara Mohawk and surrounding areas were recruited for the restoration effort.
Establishing Communication Channel Top Priority
In order to effectively continue communications while most networks were down, Niagara scoured the area for possibilities. In conjunction with its PR agency, Syracuse-based Eric Mower and Associates, a few key priorities were established:
- find some way to inform customers about power restoration efforts and timing of restoration; and
- publicize safety warnings about dangerous, life-threatening situations that arose in the storm's aftermath.
To meet these priorities, Niagara created a communications center in Watertown, 70 miles north of Syracuse, and staffed it 24 hours a day for three weeks. To manage internal communications, a regular conference call between PR staffers, marketing communications execs and restoration managers was held each morning for the three-week period.
First word regarding restoration efforts was delivered on printed pamphlets by work crews. The company also mounted an aggressive search to locate operational radio stations outside the storm area.
"We used just shy of 50 radio stations, with three in Canada," says Greg Loh, partner/director of public relations services at Eric Mower & Associates. "We made calls three times a day [to radio stations all over the region] to ascertain if a station was on the air and would stay on the air."
Niagara also posted two safety-related messages related to properly ventilating generators, and a number for the Red Cross on billboards.
Fine-Tuning the Message
Once the local channels of communication were operational, Niagara execs moved to their next priority, communicating different messages to its two sets of customers, those who had been affected by the storm and those who had not.
For customers still without power, the most important message is one that sets the most realistic expectations on the part of the customer, no matter how sobering, says Ashooh.
"We got on the air January 8 and said right away, 'It will be three to four weeks for your power to be restored. It was strong but realistic."
Niagara also bought running full-page ads in a group of local daily and weekly newspapers. "We delivered simple messages to customers about what Niagara was doing regarding the clean-up," says Loh. The clean-up is expected to last through the summer.
Communicating to customers outside of the affected areas was just as crucial.
"They needed to know that we needed to devote all of our resources to the restoration effort," says Ashooh.
"I wanted customers to understand how difficult it would be [for us to deliver regular service to them] to make sure their expectations were properly set."
Additionally, Niagara Mohawk's marketing communications group continued regular communication and special services for its major industrial customers, many of whom were affected by the storm. (Nick Ashooh, Niagara Mohawk, 315/428-6922; Greg Loh, Stephanie Salanger, 315/466-1000)
Tips on Crisis Communication
- Be prepared and continually go over your plan.
- Set realistic expectations for those affected by the crisis, even if it is painful to do so.
- Establish cooperation with other entities that might help during the crisis, such as local and state officials.
Source: Niagara Mohawk