I want to thank each of you for the role you played in maintaining operations and customer communications during the Internet outages we have experienced this week.   

Having knowledgeable and dedicated staff to answer customer calls is always important, especially during periods of Internet and email outages.  Our customer teams and the HotTap helpdesk talked many customers through the process of using the offsite server and even manually entered nominations for customers.  Our gas control staff continued to effectively operate our systems despite having to handle an increased volume of calls from customers and while working in an environment without many of the normal reports.

The events of last week and this week added to an already long list of operational and systems challenges that we have faced this summer.  It has been a long and exhausting summer for our entire ETS logistics team and for our system support staff.  And, with a move ahead for much of our team, I realize that there are still added demands on everyone's plate.

As I salute all your efforts to date and your patience in the move ahead, I need to make a few additional requests of you:

1.  Please refrain from any non-essential Internet use.   As our team is connected back to Internet access, it is absolutely critical that we not re-infect company computers.  Please avoid use of any non-essential business sites, including news, shopping, financial, games, etc, whether at your desk or dialed in to company computers through VPN.  If you have a question about the appropriateness of a site, please consult with a team advisor.   Some groups may be disabled from Internet access altogether for the immediate term to ensure the reliability of critical systems.  This is a serious issue for Enron.  If our team re-infects company computers it will impact the long-term ability of our group to have Internet access.

2. Make sure that customer calls are answered.  The demands of system outages, testing and moving are weighing heavy on all of us.   I know that you have gone to great lengths to answer customer calls these last few days.  I need for you to continue that level of customer phone service.  Each customer team needs to ensure that customer calls are answered by a live representative and do not roll to phone mail.  This is the level of service that we have committed to deliver to our customers and we will have to find a way to keep this promise despite our move and other demands.

3. Smile and know that you are appreciated.  It seems like everywhere we turn these last few weeks we are confronted with bad news -- national events, Internet viruses, the stock market.   Perhaps it is trivial, but I wanted to make sure to tell you how much I appreciate what you do.  I feel proud to be part of this team and even prouder of the way that we pull together during tough times.  I also wanted to tell you that we are planning a fun celebration for our team in the near future -- details to follow soon. 


Thank you 

Shelley