So often when there are storm-related outages and ...

So often when there are storm-related outages and outages due to other natural disasters, Dominion takes to Facebook and Twitter to report that personnel are working hard. I have no doubt that they are. My issue with Dominion is not the hard-working field employees who spend their time in dangerous circumstances for long periods of time absent rest. Of course it's not! Those people are doing a thankless job and I thoroughly appreciate them.

Instead, my frustration comes from horrendous public relations and communications management efforts. A Fortune500 company should be able to scrabble together the resources to have someone post at least 4-5 updates a day in the aftermath of a storm. Sure, everybody's scrambling but not every Dominion employee is a field technician either, just as not every hospital employee is a doctor. Those updates should include more information than "We're assessing the damage." Of course you are! Or more specifically, your field workers are. But that is the sole update often for 2-3 days at a time when it's unreasonable to believe this is the case. Telling your customers that power restoration is expected within 48 hours is still better than saying "We're looking, we're looking" even if you have to modify that 48 hour ETA. This is the absolute #1 complaint I see about Dominion from others as well.

Beyond this, in the recent storms (June 2016) that knocked out 75% or more of Dominion's Richmond area customers, the social media updates included constant notes about how this was the first big storm in 4 years. Great. So what was done between 2012 and 2016 to improve the infrastructure to make it easier to contend with these problems in the future? I'm not looking for perfection here; I'm looking for progress. This specifically revolves around better cooperation on burying power lines, upgrading delivery systems, and even stronger management of an outbound media message. Modern Americans will naturally be ticked when the power goes off but I swear they'll be LESS ticked if they get updates and a consistent stream of improvements.

I do want to note once again, though, that the efforts of those employees who go out and do their jobs and do them in terrible conditions should still be commended. Meanwhile, the managerial messages and corporate vision might need some tending.