The value of having a crisis communication plan is never more evident than when disaster strikes. In today’s day and age where news is at our fingertips around the clock and social media offers a forum for spectators to carry the conversation, power companies need more than a business continuity plan during a crisis. LPCs need a swift, transparent and authentic response to the audiences critical to their success.
To help provide power company communicators a roadmap for handling the earliest stages of unexpected and potentially reputation-challenging events, TVPPA’s Communications Advisory Group (CAG) and Communications & Marketing team developed the Crisis Communications Toolkit, a set of resources available exclusively to our members. The downloadable communication assets are now available on demand at tvppa.com.
The following items can be customized to meet your particular needs:
- a crisis communication checklist
- crisis action list (what LPCs should consider before and immediately after an event)
- crisis question sheet (a document that aids in the collection of important information, not all of which should be shared in your communications)
- message triangles (a tool based on the principle that people focus best on messages built around three or four consistent points)
- standby statements, and
- press releases.
How to Find Our Toolkits
The Crisis Communications Toolkit can be found alongside three additional CAG-produced communications toolkits on the member section of our website. The additional toolkits include resources related to supply chain challenges, power restoration, and the advantages of being part of a locally-owned power community.
To access these toolkits, visit tvppa.com, use the member login link in the upper right of the home screen to access the member menu, and click on Communication Tools. Bookmark this page for easy access or download the content for future use, but be sure to revisit the page in the future for updated content and additional toolkits.
We’re here to help!
TVPPA staff members are available to answer questions and provide assistance with these resources. For assistance, please email communications@tvppa.com or call 423-756-6511. To discuss current and future toolkit needs, please contact CAG Chair Marlin Williams or TVPPA Vice President of Communications and Marketing Nathalie Strickland.