Hawaiian Electric honored for best practices in outage communications
Release Date: 3/22/2019
HONOLULU, March 22, 2019 – Hawaiian Electric Company has received a 2019 Best Practices in Outage Communications Award from Chartwell, Inc. for the development, implementation and promotion of a mobile app and online outage map/reporting tool that has resulted in significant new engagement with customers.
Launched in August 2017, the free mobile app makes retrieving outage information, reporting outages and receiving timely alerts on mobile phones and tablets easy for customers of Hawaiian Electric. Unique to the mobile app, users with the geolocation feature active on their mobile device can see information on any existing outages near their current location.
Mobile app downloads from the Apple Store and Google Play more than doubled in less than two years. February 2019 was a particularly windy month with a number of outages on Oahu, resulting in a record 61,264 page views of the outage map last month.
In addition to outage information, the app provides direct access to electric bills and the ability to start, stop and move electric service. It gives customers quick links to sign up for services like paperless billing and time-of-use rates and provides instant alerts on utility work or weather-related events that may affect their day. The mobile app for smart phones also shows electric vehicle drivers where to find Hawaiian Electric’s fast-charging stations.
Hawaiian Electric received Chartwell’s Bronze Award in the category for midsize utilities with fewer than 700,000 customers.
“This year’s award entries really illustrate the intense focus that the industry has placed on improving outage communications,” said Russ Henderson, Chartwell senior research manager.
Based in Atlanta, Chartwell, Inc. is a specialized information provider for the utility industry, providing strategic research and issue-targeted forums for collaboration among industry peers. For more information, visit www.chartwellinc.com.
