EPCOR Utilities Inc. (A): A Critical Community Consultation

In January 2003, EPCOR Utilities (EPCOR) was facing great pressure from a radical community group that wanted the company out of its community of Rossdale - where EPCOR was founded in 1891 and had been operating since. The pressure had mounted to the point that EPCOR's sole shareholder, the City of Edmonton, had asked that EPCOR prepare a long-term plan for its operations in Rossdale as part of a formal review of the land use at the site. Operations of EPCOR were $3 billion. The case encourages students to think through the senior vice-president of public and government relations job of engaging (or at least placating) the community from a philosophical level to the practical details of implementation.