Lessons from Dominion: The Law of Crisis PR advocates leading with the benefits

The fate of the recently approved Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center spearheaded by Dominion, a leading energy company could have been that of the cancelled Dynegy Longleaf plant in Georgia but the project was ultimately saved by the fact that Virginia law does not regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. A judge in Georgia ruled differently in Dynegy’s case. However, Dominion’s journey to clinching approval to build its $1.8 billion, 585-megawatt, coal power plant had been laced with lessons coal companies and other businesses who need community support to survive can learn from.

It’s not news that Dominion faced strong opposition from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, given overall awareness and a U.S. Supreme Court finding in 2007 that carbon dioxide is one of the major contributors to global climate change. But the fact is the Virginia City Energy Center is far from all bad. The proposed Center will use up to 20 percent biomass in addition to coal for its fuel thereby reducing its emissions. According to the Washington Post, the plant is hybrid because it will be “engineered to burn coal, plant matter and “gob”, a kind of mine waster made of rock and coal piled around the mining districts of southwest Virginia.” Additionally, the project will bring 1,000 jobs to Virginia during the construction phase, a permanent staff of more than 75 people, and about 350 mining jobs for residents.
While powering 146,000 homes, a Virginia Tech economic impact study indicates the City Hybrid Energy Center will generate about $440 million a year in tax revenues and other benefits for the county.

But all of these great points seemed to get lost in the shuffle. They ended up been secondary messages instead of helping to make the case for the Virginia Hybrid Energy Center.
Here are some key takeaways from Dominion’s experience:

·Poll the community and host town-hall meetings to uncover sensitive issues before issuing proposals. This will stand a company, especially a coal plant or large-scale manufacturing company, in good stead in terms of incorporating various components that are important to residents into it plans.

·Plan a comprehensive public relations program that effectively engages your key audiences. For Dominion, each audience base, be they policy makers, residents or environmental interest groups needed targeted messaging that described why this wasn’t like any other coal power project – a perception the company didn’t successfully get over.

·For community and all issues-related communications programs, lead with the benefits. This can be orchestrated as an educational process rather than a series of disparate tactics that scream cold selling. And it should come even before a formal announcement is made and before the plant is built.