Enver Acevedo Senior Attorney Law Department Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. 4 Irving Place, Room 1815-S, New York NY 10003 Tel.: 212-460-3762 Fax: 212-677-5850 Email: [email protected] May 19, 2015 By Electronic Mail Hon. Kathleen H. Burgess Secretary to the Commission New York State Public Service Commission Three Empire State Plaza Albany, New York 12223-1350 Re: Case 11-G-0565 – In the Matter of a Natural Gas Incident at 198 Joseph Street, Horseheads, on January 26, 2011 in the Service Territory of New York State Electric and Gas Corporation Dear Secretary Burgess: In accordance with the New York Public Service Commission’s Order Directing Implementation of Best Practices of New York Gas Facilities, issued under the referenced proceeding on April 17, 2015, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. hereby submits the attached Revised Education Plan. Please note that the attached is a corrected version of an earlier filing. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding this matter. Very truly yours, /s/ Enver Acevedo Order Directing Implementation of Best Practices of New York Gas Facilities – Case 11-G-0565 May 18, 2015 Table of Contents Gas Safety Communications – An Ongoing Priority ................................................................. 1 Current and Future Communications and Outreach Efforts .................................................... 1 Outreach Events ............................................................................................................................... 2 Youth Outreach ................................................................................................................................ 2 Social Media Channels ..................................................................................................................... 2 Reevaluating Gas Safety Communication in 2014 ................................................................... 3 Market Research to Understand Barriers to Reporting the Smell of Gas ........................................ 3 Enhancing Communications ................................................................................................... 4 Putting Research Findings to Work .................................................................................................. 4 More Multi-Lingual Communications .............................................................................................. 4 Partnering with Nonprofits and Other Community Outlets to Reach More Audiences .................. 5 Enhanced Web Pages ....................................................................................................................... 6 Digital Testing of Most Effective Ad Headlines ................................................................................ 6 Gas Safety Pilot Press Conference ................................................................................................... 6 Gas Leak Web Maps ......................................................................................................................... 6 Future Planned Activities ................................................................................................................. 6 Educating Public Officials ....................................................................................................... 7 Preventing Third-Party Damages ..................................................................................................... 7 Future Planned Activities ................................................................................................................. 7 Use of New Technology ......................................................................................................... 8 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 8 Appendix A - Public Awareness Programs Regarding Gas Odors A. LDC Best Practices ............................................................................................................. 9 Develop and mail bill inserts/brochures with gas safety messaging ............................................... 9 Distribute “scratch & sniff” pamphlets that simulate gas odor ....................................................... 9 Table of Contents Provide non-English versions of brochures upon request ............................................................... 9 Use a block of foreign language on some gas brochures to indicate that the information is important and should be translated ................................................................................................ 9 Participate in NGA’s annual pipeline safety awareness campaign for radio/TV/online media outlets ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Deploy email blasts with gas safety messages .............................................................................. 10 Incorporate messages in social media communication ................................................................. 10 Provide education to school children ............................................................................................ 10 Annual mailings to contractors and periodic mailings to public officials ...................................... 10 Distribute gas safety information during service calls ................................................................... 11 Add QR code to publications directing to website ........................................................................ 11 Provide town/community meetings on gas safety ........................................................................ 11 Include gas safety information at community events ................................................................... 11 B. Commission Best Practices ............................................................................................... 12 Scratch and sniff pamphlets .......................................................................................................... 12 Website .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Language block .............................................................................................................................. 12 Office locations .............................................................................................................................. 12 On-hold messaging ........................................................................................................................ 12 Appendix B: Education to Local Governments Regarding Third Party Excavations Near Natural Gas Facilities Collaborative Initiatives ....................................................................................................... 13 Leverage existing NY One-call safety videos and target them to public officals and government agency personnel ........................................................................................................................... 13 Leverage regional face-to-face and online education programs to be developed in partnership with One-call centers ..................................................................................................................... 13 LDC Initiatives ..................................................................................................................... 13 Conduct face-to-face meetings at least once a year with municipalities with high instances of contractor damage......................................................................................................................... 13 Table of Contents Copy the project owner on correspondence and invoices regarding damage to utility facilities by contractors retained by municipality. Follow up with call or meeting .......................................... 14 Participate in municipal construction meetings with contractors on projects where damage has occurred ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Urge municipalities to investigate contractor damage prevention training certification lists with NY One-call centers prior to adding contractors to bid lists .......................................................... 14 Perform annual mailings seeking information on public improvement projects from municipalities and counties and conduct follow up meetings ...................................................... 14 Participate at meetings that town supervisors, superintendents and commissioners attend to emphasize damage prevention and public safety ......................................................................... 15 Annual Gas Safety Brochures and Bill Inserts ....................................................................... 16 Gas Safety Education ........................................................................................................... 16 Youth Outreach ................................................................................................................... 16 Community Outreach .......................................................................................................... 17 Conduct Focus Groups ........................................................................................................