UGI Connection

Some NEPA utilities send out newsletters to the community from time to time. For example, PPL (formerly PP&L, for Pennsylvania Power & Light) sends out the newsletter "Inside Susquehanna" three times a year - which is odd, because it's presented as a seasonal publication, but every year going back to 2005 has skipped one season (frequently Summer, but occasionally Spring, and even one Winter.) This is useful because "Susquehanna" refers to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant located at Salem Township near Berwick, which has been making local residents feel vaguely uneasy since 1982. The newsletter allows for corporate outreach, community involvement, and puts a human face on the utility by providing information about tours, tests, special programs, and other activities.

But how much more immediate would this information be if it were presented in blog form? Rather than waiting three or four (or more) months to get out information, a blog would allow information to be disseminated as soon as it is posted to the blog. It might not reach those community members without computers or internet access, but using a blog as an adjunct to rather than as a replacement for a newsletter would offer the best of both worlds - at no added cost, if the information presented on the blog is the same as the information provided on the newsletter.

Some corporations have opted for the online route. One of those is UGI, a natural gas utility that serves   customers throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its blog, UGI Connection, also provides links to their Facebook page and Twitter feed. It also provides basic customer service information on the "About" page. (Unfortunately, while it does supply a link to the main UGI page, it's hidden in the blogroll, which might be confusing to customers who have come to the blog by accident,)

UGI Connection
http://blog.ugi.com/