Survey Says Utility Preparedness Subpar
A recent survey by Itron Inc. of 300 utility leaders and 500 customers revealed a growing amount of concern over utility preparedness due to the increasing frequency of severe weather.� According to the survey, the number of global disasters has increased by over 400% in the last 50 years, and this cold hard reality is reflected in the survey results.��
Indications of Reduced Confidence in Utility Preparedness
The survey and the associated report, titled “Disaster Preparedness: Itron Resourcefulness Insight Report,” had a number of interesting results:
- A whopping 87% of consumer respondents were impacted by a disaster in the past 5 years
- Only a third of consumer respondents feel highly confident that their utility is well-prepared for an emergency
- Half of consumer respondents claimed they would be willing to pay more in order to increase utility preparedness (this is likely a good example of the disconnect between what people say and what they do!)
- Nearly 70% of utility respondents are more worried about a disaster now versus just 5 years ago
Overall, not exactly a ringing endorsement of the adequacy of utility preparedness!� This is why a growing number of people want to go “off the grid” by investing in local generation like solar power.� But for everyone else, the survey results reveal an interesting opportunity to boost confidence in preparedness.�
One of the clearest examples to boost confidence is focusing on public relations to tout your company’s preparedness efforts.� This can go long way toward influencing perception.� In my view, irrespective of the survey results, this is critical to reduce both customer and regulator scrutiny during emergency situations.�
The beauty of leveraging PR efforts is that it doesn’t require a ton of resources or funding.� You don’t need to invest in storm hardening, for example, to communicate to customers in a way that highlights the things that the company does well.�
In the final analysis, perception is reality when it comes to everything in life – including utility preparedness – and luckily, steps can be taken to influence this perception in positive way.
