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Jun 21 , 2011
This morning when I opened my email I got a pretty big, but welcome surprise. Utilities surveyed by E Source, an energy analysis and research firm, named Avista the top utility in social media. Read the press release here. We’re listed alongside some of the largest utilities in the country. I think this recognition really speaks to the success of engaging online with Avista customers. We’re delivering information and conversation in a way that you want. I’m really proud of that. We’ve been at this social media thing for just over two years and we’ve got a lot to show for it. Earlier this month the Avista Blog celebrated its two year anniversary. We’re talking energy and company news on three Twitter accounts, @Avistautilities, @AvistaCares and @Dan_at_Avista. We’re also publically discussing the issues facing our company and industry through blog and media comments/discussion forums. We’ve produced videos and podcasts that speak to the most pressing concerns of our customers. We’re focused on energy efficiency on the Every Little Bit Facebook page. And we’re constantly talking directly with you through our e-mail Conversation@avistautilities.com
I know a lot of the folks who are running online/social media programs at the utilities recognized on the E Source list below and respect what they are doing with their customers. But I’m not afraid to say that I wouldn’t trade our Avista customers for any of theirs. You all are the reason we started using social media. We’re just following your lead.
Thanks for the last few years and I hope we can continue to deliver social media content that you want. Got ideas, comments? What can we do better or are missing? E-mail us or comment below.
Here’s the news release from E Source.
Top Utilities Using Social Media
-E Source Asked Utilities to Rate Their Peers
BOULDER, CO, June 21, 2011—According to the utilities that participated in the 2011 E Source Utility Social Media Survey, Avista is the top utility when it comes to using social media. To find out how utilities are using social media, E Source conducted its second national social media survey in early 2011. The electric, gas, water, and combination utilities that participated in the survey were asked which utilities they considered to be social media leaders. The top-ranked utilities are:
Investor-Owned Utilities
Avista, Duke, Pepco, Pacific Gas and Electric, American Electric Power Southern Company, Idaho Power, Dominion
Public Utilities
SRP, Memphis Light (Gas and Water Division), Public Service of New Hampshire, Nashville Electric Service, Austin Energy
The survey included questions about social media business drivers, tools, staffing, and governance.
“Hundreds of utilities are now using social media in their communication, marketing, web, and, in some cases, customer service strategies,” says Matthew Burks, senior manager of E Source Mass-Market Services. “The most successful utilities see the long-term implications of this channel and are investing the time, staff, and infrastructure to integrate it into their daily operations.”
Mar 30 , 2011
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This Avista crew was in the middle of installing a
large steel electrical structure that holds power lines
which cross the Spokane River near SFCC and TJ
Meenach Bridge. The old wooden structure is still
standing in the middle with the poles connected at
the top. Two of the taller steel replacement poles are
on the picture on the left and right. The placement of
this structure is on the side of a 45-degree angle
ravine that slopes down to the river below. Once the
full structure is built the crew will re-string new, more
efficient power lines across the river. |
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The Avista crew fills in the hole for a new steel pole.
A contractor had to shoot gravel down the ravine on
a belt to fill in the massive depth of the new poles. |
We all use power every day, but don’t always know where it comes from or why it’s so reliable
This morning I wrote a reply in an ongoing online conversation I’ve been having with a few folks on a local news website. The discussion was wide-ranging from rates to hydropower. We don’t always agree with one another. That’s OK. It got me thinking about power generation in our area and our customers’ use of it.
One area of the discussion that struck me was the idea that Avista’s hydroelectric dams (built when the company was Washington Water Power) were paid for by taxpayers. I don’t know if this is a common misperception, but it’s incorrect. In fact, all of Avista’s (WWPs) dams were built through private funding. All Spokane River projects: Monroe Street (1890) Post Falls (1906), Nine Mile (1908), Nine Mile (1915) and Upper Falls (1922); and Clark Fork projects: Noxon Rapids (1959) and Cabinet Gorge (1953) were built privately. There are so many little dams chugging away day after day, decade after decade that they are easy to ignore. Even after four years of working at Avista when I think of a “big” dam, I find myself thinking of Grand Coulee or Chief Joseph dams on the Columbia River. Those are federal dams built with taxes, Avista’s weren’t.
Our power mix is roughly 50 percent hydroelectricity. Forty-two of that 50 percent comes from the dams we built, own and operate. The rest come from long-term contracts with other hydro generators.
Focusing on reliability so you don’t have to
Operating these dams and electric resources is really a complex process that most of us don’t think about every day. The perception may exist since these resources are up and running that power has, and always will be plentiful and reliable. That’s just not the case. We’ve got to work at it together. One of the questions I received last summer when I was working on our Energy on the Street project was about the future of energy. How is Avista planning for the future?
The web of electric generation around the Northwest provides juice for those who want it and pay for it. When I come home at night and flip on the lights, I don’t think about where that power comes from and I bet you don’t either. Is it hydro, natural gas, biomass, coal or wind? But there’s a system in place that we manage that ensures you get the power you need when you want it. That’s one way to think of reliability.
The system is also reliable because employees maintain it. The effort extends beyond maintaining or upgrading power plants. It’s reliable because of the people who climb the poles in six-feet of snow. The men and women who brave the elements to ensure the power lines that feed your home are back in service as quickly as possible when nature’s fury blows trees into the lines, encases them in ice or burns them to the ground in a firestorm.
Avista’s electrical system is rooted around 125 years of history, but it’s not on autopilot. Our employees work hard to ensure that when you flip the light switch or turn on the TV, you don’t have to think about 125 years of power lines and dams. All you need to know is that we’re taking care of it and that it’s there for you when you need it. That’s reliability.
Jan 11 , 2011
Viewer’s Choice judging is underway in Avista’s Every Little Bit video contest. High school students from throughout Avista’s service territory created more than 60 videos about energy efficiency.
The deadline for voting to tomorrow at midnight!
Videos can be given one to five stars from viewers and this voting will be used to decide a Viewer’s Choice winning video – and Apple iPod prizes to the winning team.
If you have a few minutes in your day, go to www.everylittlebitvideo.com and take a look at these creative videos. And be sure to rate the videos you watch. Is there a five-star video out there?
The video contest encourages local students to think about energy and efficiency in creative ways and showcase them on video.
Dec 22 , 2010
Powering our Future video
Creating a sustainable energy future will take all of us working together, bringing new ideas to the table and sharing in a new era of securing, delivering and using energy. Over 250 people gathered in Spokane Valley for the event.
Questions about the event or any of the topics? E-mail us. Dec 01 , 2010
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Winter is here in the Northwest. And somewhere inside this picture is a utility pole and power line.
Yep, #WinterisHereNW. |
Last year at this time, we did a series on Twitter using the hashtag #WinterCountDown to get our followers ready for the cold weather and holidays ahead. This year, the cold weather beat us and the snow just keeps piling up. So we’re not counting down to winter this year; we’re going to plow right through it from now to December 31. So begins #WinterisHereNW.
Winter doesn’t officially begin until December 21, but Mother Nature and La Nina have other plans for us here in the Northwest. So let’s get the upper hand early on and at least get on a level playing field. This means knowing where the energy hogs are in your home and managing their energy consumption. We can help you identify these little monsters. It also means being aware of using extra energy during the busy holidays – with more people at home, more cooking and entertaining going on, and for many of us, more lights both inside and out. We have some tips to help you save energy and still enjoy the season.
This year our elderly and infirm neighbors and family members will need assistance more than ever – shoveling walkways and keeping meters and vents cleared of snow. And some folks may need help paying their energy bills this winter – we have assistance tips there, too.
We’ll be tweeting about all of this and more in the coming weeks. Come join our journey this month. And tell us if there are specific topics you’d like to know more about. We’ll do our best to help you do your best this winter.
More info on Twitter
Nov 08 , 2010
Powering Our Future Slideshow
Click on the slideshow above to view images from Powering Our Future: Choices, Opportunities and Costs. These 23 photos capture much of the interaction and discussion during the event.
The interactive energy event was held in late October in Spokane Valley, drawing more than 200 attendees from Washington and Idaho. As part of our ongoing effort to engage customers and communities, we talked about forces at play in the energy industry, renewable energy, the role of energy efficiency, and more.
If you'd like to see captions with the images, click here. Oct 26 , 2010
The goal of Powering our Future: Energy Opportunities, Choices and Costs is to engage attendees in a discussion about Avista and the region’s energy future
Over the last few weeks you may have heard about Avista’s energy event that happens this Thursday. It’s shaping up to be a great event, and I’m glad I’ll be in attendance.
This first-time event, called Powering our Future: Energy Opportunities, Choices and Costs, will bring community and business leaders, commercial and industrial customers, elected officials, and others together for an interactive afternoon with national energy speakers and Avista experts on topics concerning the future of energy, followed by a networking social.
There are still some seat available, click here to reserve a space. For those of you not able to come, we’ll recap discussion highlights, key findings, video clips, photos and more after the event. I’ll even be live-tweeting Thursday from the @AvistaUtilities twitter account. Watch for the hashtag #EnergyFuture.
The goal of “Powering Our Future” is to engage the public in a discussion about Avista and our region’s energy future. We’ll be highlighting important issues around using, delivering and securing energy that are shaping this future and hope to use this event as a launching point for future conversations and engagement.
Oct 22 , 2010
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Videographer Duane Regehr, Limited Income Program Manager Chris
McCabe and Communications Manager Dan Kolbet pause for a
photo between Energy on the Street takes. | Post by Dan KolbetToday was a great day. We recorded eight new question and answer videos for Energy on the Street, our interactive customer project that helps get you answers to your most pressing questions about energy. I plan to have a new batch of edited videos on our Energy on the Street page by early November.
Trying to schedule a number of employees to record answers on the same day is a bit tricky, but thankfully everyone was willing and happy to make today fit their schedule. This morning I was a bit worried about the shoot while driving into work – it was raining and I’d planned to record the answers outside. Thankfully, the sun peaked through the clouds at just the right times and allowed our Avista experts to answer your questions without getting soaked!
Today we tackled questions about rates and pricing, wind and solar power, time of day metering, PUDs and investor-owned utilities and more.
We also recorded our first Avista expert responding to a question that was e-mailed to us by a customer through our conversation@avistautilities.com inbox. If you’ve got additional questions for us, send us an e-mail, we’d love to get you an answer. Aug 27 , 2010
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Note the white sandbags, called weirs, lined up in the Spokane River. These temporary dams help divert
water during the aesthetic spill tests. They will be removed from the river once testing is complete. |
We received this message to conversation@avistautilities.com yesterday from a concerned customer. I thought this might be a question that other customers may be asking, so I’ve posted the full e-mail and our reply below.
E-mail
I have seen the crews at work on the Aesthetic Spill Pilot Test in the River Front Park area. It appears the purpose of this pilot test is to assess the feasibility of diverting water that would normally flow through the south channel to the north channel. Do any practical benefits exist for this kind of diversion? Or, as the pilot study name suggests, are the benefits purely aesthetic?
If the no practical benefits exist, I object to the use of my utility rates for a purely aesthetic project which only benefits a small portion of the rate paying customers.
Please shed some light on the driving force for this project.
-Jesse
Reply
Dear Jesse, Thanks for your inquiry about the work being done on the Spokane River channels in Riverfront Park.
As you may know, we received a new operating license for our hydro facilities last year. With the new license came some new conditions that we are required to meet. Among those is an aesthetic spill in the north and middle channels of the river.
Currently the requirement is for a minimum 500 cfs to be diverted from the south channel. But there is a provision in the license that allows us to attempt to modify the riverbed so that we can make the flows just as appealing with only 300 cfs.
What we are doing is filling in the artificial cuts in the rock that were done in the early days of Spokane’s development. These were done to divert naturally low river flows to various mill wheels and laundries, etc. Those same cuts prevent the aesthetic affect that people want to see in the river.
Presently we have a group of stakeholders evaluating the modified river flows for the most effective configuration. Once that is established we can begin to make permanent modifications and hopefully divert less generating water from the powerhouse at Upper Falls.
I hope that addresses your concerns. Please let me know if you have further questions.
-Hugh Imhof, Avista Communications Manager
Jul 16 , 2010
Our Energy on the Street project continues today with customer interviews in downtown Spokane, near the Spokane Transit Plaza and tonight at Avista Stadium before the ballgame starts. If you’ve got a question for Avista – one that you’ve always wanted to ask, but never really had the chance, come find me today. If you can’t make it to one of these locations, you can always send us an e-mail at Conversation@Avistautilities.com.
I’ve really enjoyed the two full days of customer interviews in Stevens County and Coeur d’Alene City Park. I’ve spoken to customers who have nothing but great things to say about our company and customer service, but also those who have criticized aspects of our business. Whichever category you fall into (maybe both), we want to hear from you – that’s the whole point of the Energy on the Street project. We’ll have customer questions and employee answers up on our website later this summer.
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