A Better East Texas - Communication during Crisis
TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Recent storms put numerous public and private emergency systems to the test. At one point more than 70 thousand homes in Smith County were without power. You could drive around in just about every community in East Texas and see the damage. We all owe a huge thank you to our first responders who helped folks in distress and thankfully helped limit further damage and injury. But perhaps the biggest sign that we were in trouble were the hundreds of bucket trucks that descended on the hardest-hit areas. While it can be easy to be critical of the Oncor’s and SWEPCO’s of the world, their plan for power restoration works well. It still took days in some cases but there was little doubt the linemen were on it. These companies also provided regular updates on progress and work that remained so that the public had some comfort in knowing where things stood. Contrastingly, some service providers did not communicate well at all. Not all, but some utility and service providers seemed to go radio silent. Thousands were without drinkable water in some areas for days and when that happens, those providers must develop a better system to inform customers during and after the storm and keep them updated on repair progress. It is just that simple on these critical services. The heat is setting in now and different challenges are on the way for all our grids. Service providers that didn’t perform well in this recent test need to refine their systems immediately – and that will make for a Better East Texas.
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