Company Puts Brakes on Legislation Negatively Impacting their Customers
Problem:
Entergy, a large provider of electric service in the Southern U.S., was being confronted with several state legislatures' plans to deregulate the electric utility system in their service areas. The plans initially proposed would have caused significant operating problems for electric suppliers like Entergy.
What We Did:
By testing a variety of messages both for and against deregulation, our research showed that while consumers generally favored the idea of competition and deregulation, that these feelings were not necessarily specific to electric utility service (as assumed by the legislatures). In other words, our surveys and focus groups revealed that consumers had serious questions and concerns about cost and especially reliability in a deregulated environment.
The Result:
Through lobbying and a persuasion campaign, Entergy was able to demonstrate that voters in their state did not view electricity as a commodity that would almost certainly benefit from deregulation and competition. They were able to get action on these bills delayed until they could more closely work with the various legislators to get a more favorable outcome for the company.
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