Note to all local and state government officials: Facebook and Twitter are not acceptable means of officially communicating with the public especially in an emergency.
One of the things sorely lacking during the extensive 17 hour power outage in Mesquite March 6 and 7 was communications with the public and between important public services and major businesses by the entity responsible for the outage, Overton Power District (OPD).
OPD officials made no attempt to contact Mesa View Regional Hospital at any time during the outage. Hospital officials got their information from the City of Mesquite Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
The first notification to the Mesquite Fire and Rescue Department came from the city’s 911 Dispatch Center. Fire Department personnel called OPD just after midnight trying to get current information when it became apparent the power was not going to be restored in accordance with original projections.
Smith’s grocery store never received any information directly from OPD instead relying on their own experiences from past power outages to make decisions and take preventive measures to ensure they didn’t lose all their cold foods like they did in September 2014.
Neither Mesquite Gaming nor Eureka Casino Hotel received any information from OPD officials at any time. In spite of the weekend being one of the busiest of the tourist season, both major businesses and biggest ratepayers had no official communications with OPD.
Hundreds of local residents jammed the 911 Dispatch center seeking information about the outage after trying to call OPD to no avail.
Only one emergency alert message was sent out by Clark County Emergency Services four hours after the outage began. Nothing was done – or said – after that.
So what were people, businesses, and services told to do? “Just follow us on Facebook and Twitter,” was the advice given by OPD officials.
OPD Board of Trustee Mesquite representative Mike Young said it was the best way to get information out to people and it worked great. OPD Board of Trustee at-large representative Judy Metz said people should have been more prepared.
Does it need explaining why all of those responses from OPD are just plain stupid?
The average age of Mesquite residents is 54 years. The vast majority of people don’t use Twitter at all. Many others don’t do Facebook either. Neither of those worked for anyone whose cell phone wasn’t fully charged. Doesn’t it go without saying that to use either of those on a computer you need, oh, power?
Besides, the hospital and Fire Department at least deserve the simple courtesy of frequent phone calls during major events like a 17 hour power outage from the entity that was in charge of fixing the problem. But it’s more than courtesy – it’s a necessity.
Businesses like Smith’s and Wal-Mart who stand to lose a great deal of fresh produce and cold foods deserve to know what’s going on and get frequent updates also.
To not give the two biggest ratepayers that send millions of dollars a year to OPD a heads-up that would have helped them plan what to do with hundreds of hotel guests is just ridiculous.
And really folks, someone at OPD didn’t think to update their telephone message with current information so people could call there instead of 911 to find out what was going on? Really?
No, Mr. Young, Facebook and Twitter did not work well and it’s pathetic to think it’s the best way to go. And Ms. Metz, may you be reminded that it is OPD’s primary responsibility to be better prepared not just the people that rely on uninterrupted power service.
As for the rest of the Board of Trustees and OPD General Manager Mendis Cooper, get your stuff together and develop a communications plan before the next outage occurs. Actually, how about getting that done in the next month.
And let the public know about it any other way than Facebook or Twitter.
Thanks OPD#5, I was able to use my cell phone because it was charged and get on FB to see what was going on and if it had not been charged, I would have been able to charge it with my “in case of emergency” hand crank telephone charger. PEOPLE! YOU NEED TO BE PREPARED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES! What if it had not just been a power outage……?! Now… I do know there are a lot of people that are not on FB or twitter.. however those outlets did not save us.. they just let us know that they were working to get the power back on!! I checked on my neighbors and shared my news.. Did YOU?! Next time be prepared to take care of yourself for at least 48 hours with out power and next time you won’t find your self in a pickle! (simple things like water, batteries for your flashlights, candles and remember.. have a positive attitude.. that will always get you through anything that is happening! Thank You Overton Power for your hard work through the dark night and getting the power back on as fast as you could! I know this does not cover everything…. but quit whining and be proactive and try being prepared for ANY of “YOUR” future emergencies!
It’s a good thing that your cell carrier isn’t either AT&T or T-Mobile. Neither of them had a signal during the outage, Nicky.
Nicky,
It’s all well and good that you were prepared, kudos to you and kudos that you had a fully charged cell phone and were able to get your updates. The thing is….nobody can be prepared completely with a fully charged cell phone when you don’t know something is coming and even with a fully charged cell phone what about those individuals that don’t do smart phones? What about the over 70 crowd that have issues with health, oxygen use and medical equipment…is everybody who has these issues supposed to purchase a generator ‘just in case’? I think it’s the power company that needs to get it together….Facebook, twitter? Really is that supposed to let all the sick and elderly know what’s going on…do you really feel that facebook and twitter are reliable means of communication? Don’t just think about yourself here…you may have had a fully charged cell phone and a back up but there are plenty of people in Mesquite that aren’t as tech savvy. Consider them….not everyone does cell phones and internet, many of the elderly on fixed incomes can’t afford the expenses of internet nor do they know how to use it…oh wait…Internet was down too…no power. I do agree with you, people should be reasonable prepared but what if this would have happended in August…there would have been a lot of heat exhaustion and stroke coming into Mesa View Hospital…how does one prepare for the loss of a cooling system? Actually Mesa View Hospital was the one entity that thought to contact these people personally and check to see that they were alright. They set up an emergency system for those who needed medical help…it wasn’t thier responsibility but thank goodness they cared, unlike OPD. Thanks for NOTHING Overton Power, in all the years you’ve been in existence as a public utility, you’ve never had an emergency plan in place…..who’s running this company anyway….Oh right, the guy you just gave an eleven thousand dollar raise to. Pure idiocy to reward someone for NOTdoing thier job. And great work OPD board members who admit they work for the employees and management of OPD, not for the people who elected and pay you. That should be a huge nail for your coffins.
Terri,
Wow working for the newspaper i would think you would not let my post upset you so…. also working for the newspaper you should be advocating for the citizens to be prepared just like the boy scouts! Thank You and good day to you.
Working for the newspaper doesn’t make me less human and less worthy of my own opinion. I do advocate for the citizens AND I believe that people who provide the citizens a service should not provide that service or communication because of interruption of that service any less than 100%. Yes, it’s the responsibility of the people to be prepared for emergencies but it is the responsibility of the service provider to know thier demographic and to provide services accordingly. Facebook and Twitter DO NOT reach the majority of the Mesquite demographic by a long shot. OPD failed miserably as a service provider in thinking for one minute that not having an emergency plan was O.K. and in believing that Facebook and Twitter were acceptable as the ONLY means of communication with the public. Let’s not talk about giving an incompetent leader a huge reward for being incompetent. It was just plain lazy and, it seems, apethetic on thier part not to be more proactive in providing their customers with an emergency plan and communication. Taking the public’s money is all well and good as long as nobody has to actually work for it… huh? As long as they have been in existence and no back up or emergency plan…how do you explain that? EVERYBODY, EVERY business should have an emergency plan as well as every citizen but computers aren’t usually figured into those plans when it comes to private citizens, especially those over 65-70 which happens to be over half of the population of Mesquite. And I bet the businesses who were prepared with emergency plans and backup generators weren’t checking thier computers for facebook and twitter news, I would think there would be much more important issues on thier minds and a far more direct approach to finding the answers they need like going straight to the source….oh wait, they didn’t even put an outgoing message on the OPD answering machine and nobody was there answering the phone “In Case of Emergency”…they wouldn’t even put someone to work in the offices for their customers so they could answer their calls. Guess they didn’t want to be bothered with all those calls that the Mesquite Police Department handled for them and tied up their own lines, emergency lines as well, trying to keep people calm. It’s a good thing nobody was dying that night and needed 911.
Do you really think that because you have a cell phone and a hand crank charger that all of the retired folks living on fixed incomes could afford the additional 50 a month plus for the cell phone and the extra 50-60 bucks for a RELIABLE hand crank charger that isn’t a piece of junk? This stuff is expensive to people on a fixed income and not really necessary on a daily basis. It would be completely idiotic to pay for that sort of stuff just in case….power outages are common, candles and flashlights should suffice but not for outages that last nearly as long as the one Mesquite experienced on March 5 or the one they suffered through a year prior. People may have an emergency “cell phone” but not all cell phone are smart phones and most cell phones that are purchased by the citizens who like tp be prepared are just that…phones, they call, they receive calls but they don’t get internet.
You would think that this outtage would NOT have continued for such an extended period of time or they would have, at the very least, been better prepared to handle it; they already made this mistake once before. I’ve seen poles completely downed and destroyed that didn’t take nearly that long to repair and OPD had 25-30 people working on one or two poles…what a joke! These people get paid good “customer paid” money to fix problems that interrupt service and they got cold while fixing the poles so they had to take frequent breaks to warm up…boo hoo, they work outside, I bet they get hot too. 25-30 people couldn’t work on two poles in shifts to keep the repairs moving along?
Bottom line…they didn’t have an emergency plan after the first extended power outage …are they incapable of learning from their mistakes? You have a good day as well.
Well that 6 percent would have bought a lot of covered wagons huh. Thay don’t have cell phones and FB either.
It must be wonderful to be such a perfect, well prepared boy scout such as Nicky Miller. If only all of us could be so perfect. FYI I am prepared for these types of events with flashlights, candles, water supply etc. I was unable to use Twitter or Facebook as I only have a desktop computer and, guess what, it doesn’t work without electrical power. I do have a basic cell phone for emergencies but OPD never updated their information after the first call (telling me it would be 4 to 6 hours for repair. As I understand it, when repair crews arrived, there was a second pole leaning into the transmission lines which caused additional repair work. If OPD had been scheduling regular maintenance, this would have been corrected long before the storm started a fire on a second pole and made the repair work that much faster. I am prepared so OPD should be also. Also, during the tenure of the current manager, we have had two major outages. So what happens to the manager? He gets a raise. Dereliction of duties is not a factor in being prepared or being rewarded.
At least when I speak my mind I use my full name instead of hiding behind anonymity.
I have a portable generator that I can charge my phone in and after a few hours was able to use it and it is AT&T service. And I had a few candles as I am reading with light from generator and candles I am wondering did Abe Lincoln really do this? I also have a small electric skillet that I can plug into generator. But the best thing is I have a car. I can unlock the garage door and prop it up and then run the car. I can use the radio to hear if St. George or Las Vegas have any news but probably not as OPD didn’t either. But the car has a heater or a/c which ever is needed. I know CERT and fire dept. will do what they can for the people who need help if they have the names of people. So if you or you know someone that would need help at these emergency times make sure they are signed up with CERT so they can be checked on or helped if needed.. OPD should have some kind of backup system like most towns but till they decided to do their job then it is up to each of us to take care of ourselves as well as friends and neighbors.
Well done, editor and Ms Nehrenz,
It is foolish to think that in a retirement community like Mesquite people will turn to Facebook or Twitter in an emergency. Just plain stupid. What about those in assisted living facilities or those who are handicapped or even, heaven forbid, poor residents of Mesquite who have no FB or Twitter.
Truth is OPD has been shirking it’s responsibility for years while living high on the hog. Mendis Cooper is not qualified to be the general manager and I think you adequately addressed Mike Young’s ineptness. Thank you both for so eloquently bringing OPD’s mismanagement to our attention once again.