American Gas - April 2013 - (Page 35)

next MOntH sAFety First case stUDY: lessons from Derecho A real crisis is an emergency that moves beyond a one- to two-day media story, becomes known to a large audience through both traditional and social media, and requires engaging a crisis team to repair, reassesss, and manage an organization’s reputation. The derecho storm that hit the Washington, Dc, area last June was clearly such a crisis. This storm primarily affected the electric utilities in the Dc metropolitan area, with many consumers and businesses remaining without power for several days. Verizon’s crisis, however, came after back-up generators and batteries failed and calls could not be completed to 911 service centers in Virginia for several hours. The fact that no deaths or serious injuries occurred did not keep this from becoming a crisis, with a Verizon team that included engineering, operations, network planners, public relations, public affairs, and senior management. The team needed to get power restored to the system as soon as possible, after which they could figure out the cause, make the repairs, and communicate with public safety officials, elected and appointed officials, and the general public. in a crisis, it’s important to understand that the players fall into one of three buckets— victims, villains, or vindicators—and that you can’t restore the reputation overnight. in this case, the victims were the people without power and a 911 service that wasn’t up and running. The villain was the utility (which is never supposed to fail). The vindicators included the media, regulators, elected officials, and even attorneys. it’s often in their interest to keep the issue alive as long as possible. reputation management is a step-by-step process of communicating with stakeholders with a playbook that utilizes multiple channels: testimony at hearings and investigations; one-on-one meetings with key officials; media and social media monitoring and response; media interviews; town halls; advertising; employee communications; bill inserts; and more—until the crisis wanes and the organization can get back to business as usual. —A.G. crises, to how to manage through your website, and the perils and upsides of Twitter, blogs, and whatever comes next. Reputation management requires learning what happened with pink slime, a nondangerous food additive that was removed from the market less than two weeks after a Change.org petition made the issue go viral. Other factors were an unfortunate name given by a regulator, a YouTube video without verifiable facts, and Mommy bloggers forcing retailers to stop selling products that were already considered safe by USDA and FDA. Look in the Mirror Use the Mirror Principle: Hold up the looking glass to your own issues and safe driving, safe digging, safe distribution. safety is always top of mind throughout the industry. insights into some key developments and innovations. OPs COnFerenCe PrevieW From climate change to corrosion control. From measurement to materials. From storage to safety. Here’s a look at what’s in store at this year’s AGA Operations Conference. Plus: a list of the conference’s exhibitors. internAtiOnAL PersPeCtive Why have european automakers made greater strides with CnG vehicles than their American counterparts? Why have Americans dominated the worldwide extraction of shale gas? Answers to these and other pressing global questions. PrOFiLe Michael Liebreich, founder and CeO of Bloomberg new energy Finance, describes key trends in sustainable energy—and why the U.s. is moving toward an energy system based primarily around renewable energy and natural gas. culture. For example, a small regional gas provider will have different issues and risk factors than a utility with operations in multiple states and a high profile with Wall Street. Bottom line: learn lessons from others. Review the current bumper crop of unfortunate events to look at risks. Review or create crisis plans. And consider the reputation aspects of any short- or longterm public crisis. u PiPeLine Andrew Gilman, president of CommCore Consulting Group, is a former journalist and attorney. He counsels clients before and during crises. Gilman assisted Johnson & Johnson during the Tylenol crisis and the Government of Canada during SARS. BUrner tiPs issues, updates, and need-to-know reports about natural gas industry developments. A vieW FrOM: What’s going on at the federal, state, and city levels. With a special focus on Wall street, Main street, elm street, and foreign capitals. supply chains; social media BUyer’s GUide PrevieW vehicles and Fleet Management april 2013 AmericAn GAs 35 http://www.Change.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - April 2013

American Gas - April 2013
Contents
President's Message
Subject Index
LNG Sports Car: Racing Toward Acceptance
Digest
Issues
Updates
Need to Know
By the Numbers
People and Places
Water, Water Anywhere
Asia
State House
State House
Elm Street
LNG: Riding the Wave
Beyond the Headlines
Profile
Crisis Management
Jobs
Buyer's Guide: Mapping and GIS
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - April 2013