Electronic Communication….not much good without electricity

Years ago, when I first started at Dawson Power, it was difficult to communicate quickly with multiple media outlets and customers to provide them with timely information. Our regular monthly newsletter is still written 6 weeks in advance of publication. We rarely used television to convey a message because our service territory spread(s) across 5,000 square miles and local stations were pricey and not available on satellite until recently. Our primary media source was KRVN 880 AM because they had a strong presence in our entire service territory (discovered by surveying our customers). Farmers and ranchers in this area depend heavily on KRVN to keep them "informed".

There's a standard joke in the electric industry about using electronic means to communicate with our customers. Why bother; they don't have electricity so they can't watch television or go online. Waiting for the weekly paper to tell them what happened isn't an option. The radio is a wonderful media tool but you have to be tuned in at just the right time. We are faced with a challenge and today people demand more from us.

Here's my take, while you might not have electricity (at that moment); someone you know does or you might access web or messages through your cell phone. Or you can call us. Someone answers our phone 24 hours a day seven days a week. When the power comes back on, you can go to our FaceBook page or Twitter and find out what happened.

So why do we Twitter, Blog and use FaceBook as a connectivity piece to our customers? These types of communication pieces give you instant information WHEN YOU WANT IT. When you choose to follow us on Twitter, you will see that we don't throw out 140 characters every 10-15 minutes simply because we can. No, we use Twitter every day but sparingly so it contains information we think is important to you. Blogs, like this one, give our customers an opportunity to talk back. FaceBook "friends" can have more details about the power district and the type of work we do, how we do it and what's going on that could affect your rates. FaceBook lets us use pictures, stories, videos and updates with a few quick clicks of a mouse.

We are a company moving forward to serve you. Today's energy, tomorrow's vision.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District