[timothy.melton@lge-ku.com]

LG&E and KU has invested in enhancing it reliability and outage prevention by strategically installing distribution automated equipment throughout its service territory. The equipment keeps extended outages from occurring but customers are seeing short momentary blinks or brief outages. It is difficult to explain that we prevented the customer from having a longer outage through automated isolation of the outage cause. Also, we promote customer awareness through media that the innovative equipment and proper device coordination, prevented so many million of minutes that would otherwise been an outage. How has your utility communicated to customers with customer friendly to explain this new issue. thanks

[lmagelitz@ameren.com]

We have considered trying to communicate this issue, and concluded that it would be difficult to articulate this message to the customer through traditional media. We have also debated using social media, but are concerned that it may just incite commentary regarding outages, rather than achieve the goal of truly educating the customers. It’s a very difficult concept to communicate as a “good thing.”