Blog, Utility Communications
Community Relations, Rate Case Communications and Women’s Career Advancement: EEC’s Best-Read Content of 2022
Yet another tumultuous year is coming to a close. Some of us are swapping our sweatpants for dress pants as we return to the office. Costs are up, stress is off the charts, and “me” time seems like a quaint relic of a much simpler ti...
Utility Customer Satisfaction, Utility Marketing, Utility Rate Case Communications
Rate Case Communications: Why This Time It’s Different
Natural gas prices are up sharply. Coal prices are also up. The long-term declines in costs to build renewable energy seem to have paused. Skilled craft labor is in short supply. Supply chain bottlenecks persist. Transformers have a thre...
Blog, Utility Media Relations, Utility Stakeholders
Media Relations 202: Have a Good Story
In a previous blog post, I drew on some recent work as a contract reporter to share two tips to help utility media relations representatives win better coverage by the news media: diligently answering messages left by the news media and ...
Blog, Face-to-Face, Utility Communications
Public Speaking: 6 Tips, 6 Sins and 1 Golden Rule
I recently attended several in-person energy conferences, where I was able to see the best and worst of public speaking. Perhaps that’s been your experience as well? Recognizing that it’s easier to talk about giving a great speech th...
Blog, Customer, Effective, Messaging, Safety, Utility Communications
Promoting Energy Safety to Your Customers? How to Breathe Life into Your Marketing
When I began my career in energy journalism at The Energy Daily, my mentor and editor John McCaughey gave me a tip: “Your readers will die soon enough — try not to bore them to death!” Energy Safety: Good Copy and Provocative A...
Blog, Effective, Utility Communications, Writing
Three Steps, 15 Minutes and Presto — You’re on Your Way to Becoming a Better Writer!
The best writers never stop practicing their craft. For those of you interested in becoming a better writer, I can recommend three easy steps. Tomorrow morning, when you’re fresh and while you’re waiting for your coffee to cool down,...
Blog, Employee, Employee Communications, Utility Stakeholders
Returning to the Office? Simple Tips for Better Employee Communications and Performance
As more of us shift from remote work to hybrid work schedules or even a full-on return to the office full time, it may take us a while to fully reconnect with colleagues — or even connect with new ones who were hired during the COVID-1...
Blog, Utility Media Relations
Utility Media Relations: How Do Your Practices Compare?
If you’ve never worked in the news media, or in a utility media relations department, it may be hard to understand why some stories are covered and others are not. Utility leaders may think favorable news media coverage is nice but not...
Blog, Communities, Customer, Effective, Utility Communications, Utility Community Relations, Utility Stakeholders
Community Relations: Do the Right Thing, Then Talk About It
In Psalm 30, it is written, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Thirty centuries later, in a distinctly secular pop song, Maureen McGovern sang: “There’s got to be a morning after, If we can hold o...
Blog, Efficiency & Conservation, ESG Communications, Utility Communications, Utility Stakeholders
Quick Hits for Utilities: Boosting Trust, ESG, and Communications
People are exhausted — physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially — after spending two years in the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t really need survey data to prove that, do we? And by “people,” I mean utilities’ customer...