The Kansas City BPU recently launched the “Not All Utilities Are Built the Same” campaign, which was developed to proactively communicate how public utilities operate and how that model differs from investor-owned utilities and national advocacy narratives.
“As a community owned utility, BPU is responsible for balancing reliability affordability clean energy progress and long term system resilience while remaining accountable to the people we serve,” noted Amber Oetting, Director of Communications of the Kansas public power utility.
“We recognized that many public conversations about energy policy generation sources and utility costs are framed broadly and often lack local context,” she said.
“Not All Utilities Are Built the Same” was created to provide clear fact-based information about BPU’s public power and water model, explain the importance of a balanced generation portfolio and reinforce that decisions are made locally transparently and in the best interest of customers rather than shareholders, Oetting said.
“The campaign reflects an ongoing commitment to customer protection transparency and trust rather than a response to any single event or organization,” she said.
Oetting also discussed how Kansas City BPU is communicating the campaign to its customers.
“BPU is communicating the campaign through a measured digital first approach focused on clarity and accessibility. Messaging is delivered primarily through short visually driven content on Facebook Nextdoor and LinkedIn. Each message highlights a specific operational fact such as public ownership renewable energy mix system reliability or local governance and connects it directly to customer outcomes,” she said.
Rather than releasing long form explanations at once, BPU “is using a steady cadence that allows customers to absorb information over time and alongside real world utility operations including storm response vegetation management and seasonal demand. The campaign is intentionally non-political, fact-based and community focused with the goal of building understanding confidence and trust.”
The following are examples of BPU Facebook posts the utility has made related to the campaign:
