Press - Taylor and Roth Encourage Participation in online Utility Survey

On April 25, 2008, Mayor Kathy Taylor and Corporation Commissioner Jim Roth encouraged Tulsans to participate in an online survey concerning the December ice storms. The survey is a project of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and designed to collect feedback from Oklahomans concerning the past ice storms and their feelings on programs to prevent power outages in the future.

"Homes, businesses and lives were brought to a standstill during the December ice storm," Taylor said. "Operation Power-Up accelerated the process to restore power, but we must now focus on measures that would prevent massive outages in the future."

According to the Corporation Commission, 80 percent of the Tulsa area experienced some level of power outage during the December 2007 ice storm.

Roth explained that the Commission Staff has already begun compiling the data from the survey, but citizens can still respond until the end of April. “I want to encourage every Oklahoman to give their input on our survey,” he said. “We need you to share your feelings and ideas so that we may find better ways to create and fund utility projects in the future.”

The survey reported that most every Oklahoma would like to see some kind of preventative measure taken so that future outages could be avoided. According to Roth, the amounts most Oklahomans are willing to pay vary. “We weren’t surprised about the sentiment to do something, but the fact that most Oklahomans are willing to spend up to a dollar or more per month to address the issue was somewhat eye-opening.”

Calculations reveal that it cost Oklahomans who lost power in December on average $304.00 per household for spoiled food alone. Those people who had damage to their property on average incurred $1,229.00 in repair bills. “The residual costs to our citizens during an ice storm is considerable,” Roth said. “We have never had these kinds of statistics until now, that is why everyone’s input is so valuable to our state as we find answers to this issue.”

People wishing to participate in the survey need to visit the Oklahoma Corporation Commission Web site at http://www.occ.state.ok.us.