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an emphasis on inviting individuals who
had critical views of nuclear energy,
TVA and the Unit 2 completion project.
Eventual members included, for example,
David Lochbaum, director of the Union
of Concerned Scientists’ Nuclear Safety
Project; Don Safer, former chairman of
the Tennessee Environmental Council;
and Gretel Johnston, Mothers Against
Tennessee River Radiation and Bellefonte
Efficiency & Sustainability Team.
Site visits went well beyond the
Community Action Panel. During a
period of 15 months, the site hosted
briefings and tours for approximately 50
groups, averaging about three per month,
with visitors ranging from individual
NRC commissioners and elected officials
to environmental advocacy groups and
key customers. Construction, station and
corporate executives hosted the visits.
Every sitting NRC commissioner toured
the site, with some making multiple
trips. Each of the directors of the NRC
functions reviewing the license also
toured. These visits were important
in the stakeholder outreach process as
maintaining regulatory confidence in
TVA was a primary objective throughout
the project. Critical to the ability to do
so was the leadership and construction
team put in place to complete and license
Watts Bar 2, a factor recognized by Bill
Dean, director of the NRC’s Office of
Nuclear Reactor Regulation and who
signed the license. He specifically cited
the leadership of Mike Skaggs, senior
vice president of Watts Bar Operations
and Construction, and the regular and
transparent communication Skaggs
maintained in keeping the NRR office
and then NRC Region II Administrator
Victor McCree informed of Watts Bar’s
status.
TVA’s Communications team also
generated extensive media coverage
locally, nationally and internationally
through targeted outreach. Strategically
timed social media posts proved to be
among the most effective outreach tools.
During the 18-month outreach period the
team placed 35 posts related to Watts Bar
Unit 2, engaging some 2.2 million people.
Additional key channels used to
maintain ongoing positive visibility
among internal and external audiences
included:
Presentations to community, civic
and industry groups, most often
presented by Mike Skaggs, Senior
Vice President, Watts Bar Operations
and Construction.
Presentations to internal and external
audiences made by Chief Nuclear
Officer Joe Grimes.
Updates during TVA Board of
Directors public meetings.
Proactive media strategy, including
regional, national and industry
media.
Increased social media presence.
Dedicated web site.
Watts Bar Unit 2 e-postcard.
Videos of Watts Bar Unit 2 progress.
Internal communications through
employee newsletters, CNO all-hands
meetings, site communication sessions
and PowerPoint presentations.
Transferability:
Any utility facing a major regulatory
or public perception challenge can
thoroughly and effectively replicate
TVA’s Watts Bar Unit 2 Stakeholder
Outreach Initiative process. Challenges
can include license or permit issuance,
new construction or expansion of existing
infrastructure, or crisis response. The
stakeholder outreach process employed
by TVA can be applied to any key issue
facing a nuclear plant. For instance, it
can be used to increase awareness and
understanding of FLEX, NFPA 805 fire
protection standards, dry cask storage,
flooding- or seismic-related programs
and other issues in the nuclear industry.
The communications plan, team
structure, tactics and tools can serve as
a proven, effective guide for other plants
building understanding of and support for
a high-impact, high-investment program
or initiative. The CommunityAction Panel
created as a component of the outreach
initiative is particularly transferable, with
nuclear industry regulators suggesting it
as a best practice for other companies to
consider adopting.
The
process
is
particularly
effective where favorability is lagging
expectations. A measure used to gauge
success of TVA’s initiative was increased
favorability toward nuclear energy in
the region as documented in subsequent
public opinion research. According to
the company’s research, favorability
percentages improved most among the
key stakeholder group of public officials
– from 61 in early 2014 to 70 in 2015.
Favorability among all influentials moved
from 64 to 66, and from 49 to 52 among
the general public. Members of the public
in Tennessee, where Watts Bar is located,
were among those most favorable toward
nuclear energy.
Media metrics also reflected success
in generating favorable coverage, which
any utility can achieve through both
traditional and social media as TVA did.
According to analytics prepared for TVA
by Bulletin Intelligence, “coverage of
the Watts Bar 2 project in print, online
and broadcast news media produced 380
relevant articles in the review period,
reaching a U.S. audience estimated
at 10.02 million. The overwhelming
majority of the articles – 283 or 74.5% –
were favorable. Balanced coverage made
for 21.6% of the total and unfavorable
coverage was restricted to about 4%.”
Most telling was the fact that the central
outreach theme of Watts Bar being the
first new nuclear since 1996 was present
in almost 100 percent of the coverage.
Underscoring the support by and
use of TVA executives as primary
spokespersons for outreach, TVA
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bill Johnson was quoted in 104 articles
– including the New York Times – with
90 of them favorable and reaching 3.21
million people.
Contact:
Steve
Higginbottom,
Tennessee Valley Authority, telephone:
Stakeholder
Outreach...
