Communications Before, During, and After Superstorm Sandy

1

Communications Before, During, and After

Superstorm Sandy

26th Annual E Source Forum September 17–20, 2013

2

Today’s Discussion

• The Storm

• Preparations

• Impact

• Restoration

• Communications Best Practices

• Post-Sandy Communications

Superstorm Sandy An Unprecedented Event

• Largest Atlantic storm on record, spanning 800 miles in diameter

• More than 8.5 million power outages across 21 states

• Sustained winds reached 64 mph at LaGuardia Airport with peak gust of 90 mph on Staten Island

• Storm tide recorded at the Battery – 14.06'

3

Storm Preparations

• Deployed thousands of personnel to work 24/7

• Communicated safety information through press releases, Web updates, and an e-mail blast to 1.3 million customers

• Contacted customers who use life-sustaining equipment, and critical-care facilities to warn of possible service outages

• Secured initial deliveries of dry and wet ice in anticipation of significant customer outages

• Activated Corporate Coastal Storm Plan

• Established Corporate Emergency Response Center (CERC) – Enables high-level communication between Con Edison

departments and governmental agencies

4

5

Storm Preparations E-mail Blast

Storm Impact Exceeded Expectations and Set Records

6

7

Storm Impact

8

Storm Impact

Courtesy: MTA

• Subway and ferry service disrupted for days

• LIRR, NJ Transit, MetroNorth service disrupted for weeks

• JFK, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty airports closed for days

9

Storm Impact Transportation

Both photos courtesy: MTA

10

Storm Impact Extensive Damage to Con Edison Equipment

11

12

13

14

15

Restoration Storm-Response Videos

16

17

Restoration Communications

• Outreach to customers, elected officials, city agencies, municipalities, regulators and media

• Call centers handled more than 1.2 million calls

• Company made nearly 1.4 million calls

• Daily press briefings

• Con Edison CEO Kevin Burke participated in 3 mayoral press briefings

18

19

Restoration Communications Results

20

Restoration Communications Results

21

Restoration Social Media Communications

• @ConEdison Twitter gained 16,000 followers during Sandy

• 25 videos that Con Edison posted during the storm received over 100,000 hits

• Images posted to Flickr during the storm received over 140,000 hits

• Con Edison’s use of social media during Sandy earned several PR industry awards

22

Restoration What Media Said About Our Communications

23

Communication Best Practices What We Did Well

• Social media – tweeted restoration and safety information; engaged in online conversations

• Videos – posted online for customers, sent to employees, sent to elected officials

• Quickly responded to YouTube video – be flexible

• Rumor control

• Daily conference calls with elected officials

• Prepared narrative immediately after storm

• Pushing to remain part of the bigger picture/conversation

24

Communications Best Practices What We’ve Done Since Sandy

• Research

• Fortifying the Future – branded system improvements plan

• Give presentations at a wide variety of conferences

• TV, radio, print digital advertisements about system improvements

• Media tours

25

Communications Best Practice How We Restore Power

26

Communications Best Practice Advertisements

27

28

Communications Best Practice Advertisements

29

Communications Best Practice Advertisements

Communications Best Practices Press Events

30

31

Communications Best Practices Press Events

32

33

• County map shows entire county’s outages, ETRs, customers in each municipality

• Remainder of dashboard is municipality specific

• Muni maps shows dry ice and outreach van locations

• Icons distinguish critical locations, e.g., hospitals, nursing homes, sewer /water pump stations

• Muni job details table shows road closure tickets as well as impacts to schools and critical locations

• Muni officials can find out specific ticket info: customers affected by outage, number of calls, feeder source

34

Communications Best Practices Muni Dashboard for Westchester County

Communications Best Practices Muni Dashboard for Westchester County

35

• Improve communication channels with municipal officials

Communications Best Practices Muni Job Details Page

36

37

Communications Best Practices What We’ve Done Since Sandy

• Introduce new mobile app – allowing customers to pay bill

– report/check the status of an outage

– submit a meter reading

– get tips on gas/steam/CO safety

• Offer text messages with storm preparation information, safety tips, and outage updates

• Expanding social media communications

38

• Twitter and Facebook primary channels

• Address individual customer inquiries through personal messages

• Post good news, i.e. volunteer work, promote ebill

• Share highlights of press releases and links to full reports

• Promote our nonprofit partners

• Thank fans and followers for sharing our content

• Educate about safety issues, e.g., storms, scams, gas hazards, how to contact us in emergencies

Communications Best Practices Social Media Strategy - Listen, Inform, Engage

39

Communications Best Practices Social Media Strategy - Listen, Inform, Engage Facebook homepage

Twitter homepage

Communications Best Practices Our Conversations During Sandy

41

Communications Best Practices Our Conversations Post-Sandy

42

Communications Best Practices Maintaining Engagement on Social Media

• Contest lived on Facebook, cross-promoted on Twitter

• Goal: Keep Fans, Grow Likes

• More than doubled our Facebook fans

• Promote our nonprofit partners

• Reshape perception of company: show friendly side

43