Media Contact: Steve Schultz (608) 458-3285
New technology for cell phones keeps customers more informed
MADISON, Wisconsin – April 7, 2011 – With the spring storm season underway, Alliant Energy is letting customers know about new tools to keep them informed during storms, outages, and emergencies.
Customers now have a simple, streamlined tool to report an electrical outage or even see the status of their current situation. New technology with both regular cell phones and smart phones allows customers to contact Alliant Energy even when the power is out at home.
U.S. Cellular® customers can now dial #255 from their U.S. Cellular phone to report an outage if they are an Alliant Energy customer. This feature allows them to quickly connect to Alliant Energy’s automated outage reporting line.
Customers with other phone providers can still report outages or electrical emergencies easily by calling 1-800-ALLIANT.
Smartphone users can navigate to alliantenergy.com for an outage reporting tool. Smart phones are automatically directed to a landing page where customers can report an outage, check the status of their outage, and check the impact of severe weather across the region with the outage summary tool – which lists outage impacts by county.
“These tools allow us to respond quicker to outages. The more notifications we receive, the faster and easier it is for us to determine the size, location, and possible cause of the outage. That speeds up the process of getting power restored,” said Dundeana Doyle, Senior Vice President of Energy Delivery. “The new smartphone application will put up-to-the-moment outage information at our customer’s fingertips.”
Anytime customers report an outage they can request to have Alliant Energy call back at the phone number of choice when power is restored. When customers choose this option, the callback will happen when the outage is restored, day or night.
You can always review storm safety guidelines at alliantenergy.com/storms. Here are a few:
* Do keep an emergency safety kit in a handy location. A kit should include a battery-operated flashlight, radio, clock, and extra batteries; a first-aid kit and manual; a small fire extinguisher; a few pillows and blankets; and a stash of “rainy-day” books and games to keep kids busy.
* Don’t go near or drive over downed power lines. If you see a downed line or damaged utility equipment, call us at 1-800-ALLIANT.
* Don’t attempt to remove tree limbs stuck in or touching power lines, instead call Alliant Energy to have them removed for free.
Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and over 412,000 natural gas customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company’s primary focus. Wisconsin Power and Light, the company’s Wisconsin utility subsidiary, serves approximately 457,000 electric and 179,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at http://www.alliantenergy.com.
