Crisis Management: International Transmission Company (ITC)

Challenge
In the summer of 2003, International Transmission Company was a relatively new company in the relatively new industry of open-access electric transmission. International Transmission transmits electricity over power lines in a grid that serves customers in southeastern Michigan. It is one of only two such independent companies in the nation. In its fifth month as an independent company, International Transmission was faced with a crisis situation of monumental proportions – the most severe blackout in U.S. history, affecting 50 million people and stretching from the Midwest to New York City.

As a result of a cascading effect of transmission line shutdowns that began in neighboring Ohio, International Transmission’s system was completely shut down.

Strategy
At 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 14, minutes after the blackout occurred, Franco contacted the client to begin implementing a crisis communications plan. Throughout the next four days, including the weekend, Franco President Maria Leonhauser Rosenau worked with the client to tailor the existing crisis plan for this particular situation. Key messages were developed based on technical data that International Transmission had collected in the hours after the blackout.

Following the presentation of this data to state and federal regulatory and legislative officials, Franco implemented both a proactive and reactive media relations strategy. We quickly built a media list with national scope, identifying editors and reporters who covered the electricity market, and began pitching the top executive of International Transmission as an authoritative source of information because of the nature of the company’s business.

Also, as a result of the presentations to government officials, International Transmission received numerous calls from both national and local reporters covering the blackout. Franco’s account manager for International Transmission set up shop at the client’s location to manage the incoming calls. We contacted reporters trying to reach the client, determined each reporter’s information needs, and tailored our messages for the response. We then scheduled and monitored the interviews. Also, we monitored articles written about the blackout and built a media coverage report for presentation to the client.

Results
The result of Franco’s work was that International Transmission was and is viewed as a credible, reliable source of information concerning not only the blackout, but also electric transmission issues in general.

Media coverage included:

• Multiple placements in The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• Wall Street Journal
• Newsday
• Chicago Tribune
• Los Angeles Times
• The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News
• Toronto Globe and Mail
• National Public Radio
• CNN
• PBS
• ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliate news stations

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