Despite investments in modernizing the electric grid, 41 percent of consumers are more concerned with power outages today compared to 10 years ago, and only 10 percent are less concerned, according to a new survey from the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), a nonprofit organization that studies Americans’ energy-related behaviors, interests and values.
While less than half of today’s consumers say that they are more concerned with outages, nearly all (91 percent) would like their electricity providers to provide tips and suggestions to help them prepare for extreme weather events and power outages, according to the SECC.
Survey respondents stated that email (51 percent), website (39 percent), text message (38 percent) and on-bill information (34 percent) were the top channels where they would like to see these tips.
When it comes to communicating with customers about outages in their area, text messaging has become the preferred channel for the majority of consumers (55 percent).
However, there are still sizable numbers of customers that prefer other channels, including 16 percent for email, 15 percent for a phone call and 11 percent for an emergency alert push notification. Only two percent of respondents preferred some other means of communication.
