EDITORIAL: Promises made should be promises kept
For the second time in consecutive months, representatives from the Lee County Electric Cooperative, including CEO and Executive Vice President Dennie Hamilton, visited the island to address local government’s concerns about the service provider.
In early June, Hamilton and two LCEC employees attended a City Council session on Sanibel. During that meeting, they explained that while bringing their utility to the citizens of Sanibel may be challenging, they are not pleased with the current level of service they are providing.
On Tuesday, another LCEC contingent told members of the Captiva Community Panel much of the same.
“We didn’t meet our objectives last year,” said Hamilton. “The service we delivered to the folks on the islands was not acceptable. It did not meet our standards.”
In other words, LCEC recognizes their shortcomings as a utility provider.
Which begs us to question: What are they going to do about it?
According to Hamilton, since the problems with providing uninterrupted electrical service to the islands have worsened, LCEC has conducted its own investigation into their maintenance and restoration procedures. As a result, LCEC has initiated a corrective action plan.
Already, the company has hired additional staff that will provide emergency service to Sanibel and Captiva customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have also amended their tree trimming policy to provide more frequent maintenance.
In addition, Hamilton promised that LCEC will install cameras along the water crossings, increasing the frequency of visual inspections of equipment, install automated corrective devices as well as improve overall communications.
That’s great news to hear. We thank LCEC for its efforts.
However, we would also like the company to back up its promises with a date-certain timeline for each of their proposed improvements to be implemented. We understand that it may take more time to phase in certain elements than others, but LCEC should offer its customers a step-by-step action plan so we can follow along with their progress.
A promise made is only as good as a promise kept.
— Reporter editorial