The last few days have been trying for many in our region: loss of life and property due to the Great Windstorm of 2015 puts everything into perspective. Hats off to the workers in the field who, like the clients they serve, made do with less-than-ideal circumstances. But, their hard work and efforts were hugely undermined by a pathetic response and “update” system by the [Snohomish Public Utility District] SnoPUD.

Unlike some of the neighboring utilities, SnoPUD did not clearly articulate their restoration plans and timelines, leaving tens of thousands literally “in the dark” and immensely frustrated.My 14 year-old niece can do a better job on social media than your so-called media team. When updates became available (either by phone or online), they were generic “we understand you…thank you for your patience” drivel. At one point over an eight-hour period, 500 customers were restored. 500? With 45-plus crews in the field and many more trickling in, were customers supposed to do cartwheels? The 500 probably did, but what about the 20,000-plus who were left with “We so appreciate your patience, and are doing our very best to make repairs as quickly as is safely possible throughout the area?” Meaningless.

Their messaging was also contradictory and confusing: “If your power is out, we know and are working as quickly as we safely can to restore it, so there’s no need to report it to the outage line. However, please do report downed lines or other damage by calling 425-783-1001,” which was then followed by “Our storm center wants to make sure we don’t miss anyone. If you are still without power please call our outage line at 425-783-1001 to make sure we have your home or business on our restoration list… Thanks for your patience!” Right.

SnoPUD: take a page from your counterparts. While not a perfect system, at least their clients know, by way of geographic area, estimated restoration time, customers impacted, and status (crews onsite, assigned, etc.). Your linemen deserve your representation, but above all, your clients deserve better service than that.

As of this writing, there are still 18,500 SnoPUD clients without power, 72-plus hours into this ordeal.

Eldon Guerrero, Bothell