2015 Regulators Forum
Tim Echols was elected statewide to the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2010 and is up for re-election in 2016. He owns 2 electric cars, preaches energy efficiency, and installed solar thermal on his home. He also rages against the EPA. He has three degrees from the University of Georgia, one wife, and 7 kids.
Being in the "energy" business as a commissioner, staff, lobbyist or industry leader is hard enough without social media, right? You have to learn to deal with kilowatts, inverters, dockets, turbines, sub-stations and a host of words created from initials - like NARUC, EPA, FERC, and maybe the NRC. When you add Twitter and Facebook to the mix, it is enough to drive one crazy. Who needs it? Well, we all do, really.
Let's start with the most popular social media - Facebook. You may have thought that Facebook was just for people who wanted to post videos of dogs, cats, their dinner, and of course - selfies. But many in the energy world use Facebook to connect with customers, ratepayers and anyone looking around on the internet.
Companies like Duke Energy advertise their refrigerator recycling program on Facebook. Georgia Power has a special Facebook page dedicated just to their electric vehicle program. Entergy has a Facebook page for every division and uses it to brag on customers and employees. EMCs use the "throwback Thursday" hashtag #TBT to post historic events from their past for their Facebook friends to see.