Many utility emergency SOPs do exactly what they were designed to do: pass audits, meet regulatory expectations, and live neatly in binders or document management systems. On paper, they check every box.
When Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, major storms, or widespread outages hit, the pressure of the moment demands that SOP-mandated responses function in real time rather than just in theory. Leaders need clarity, crews need direction, and decisions need to be made quickly.
Successful outcomes hinge on whether utility SOPs support safe, confident action under pressure.
This article explores why a gap exists between audit-ready and emergency-ready SOPs, and how technical writers contribute to clearer, more usable procedures.
Why “Audit-Ready” SOPs Often Fail in the Field
The problem with audit-ready SOPs is that they’re written to prove compliance. They may fulfill legal requirements, but they fail to account for the high-pressure stress that arises during an emergency.
This disconnect shows up repeatedly in PSPS documentation and storm response procedures, which look thorough on paper but are difficult to use when systems are degraded and immediate action is required.
When you unpack it, a few underlying issues consistently show up in SOPs that are:
- Written for the wrong audience: Audit-focused SOPs assume the reader has time, context, and full system access. Field staff during a storm or outage are unlikely to have any of those.
- Written for the wrong moment: These documents are built for scheduled reviews, not real-time use. They emphasize completeness over immediacy and explanation over execution.
- Written for compliance over action: Dense, legalistic phrasing may satisfy regulators, but it slows comprehension when cognitive load is high and immediate steps must be taken.
- Written but not tested: Audit-ready SOPs are rarely tested in realistic emergency scenarios, so usability problems don’t surface until the stakes are already high.
“Attempt to use the SOP yourself,” technical writer Coralee Bechteler advises. “If you can follow along and actually execute the steps, the SOP was written for someone in the field. If the SOP reads like it was written just so the organization can say, ‘Here’s proof that we told our employees about/how to…’, then chances are it was written for compliance purposes only.”
When stress and uncertainty are rising, those language choices affect efficiency and, most importantly, change how people read, process, and act on instructions altogether.
Emergencies Change How People Read (and Think)
When adrenaline surges during an emergency, our hearts pound, our palms sweat, and our breathing gets shallow. Stress in others becomes obvious, too; we hear it in their voices and see it in the tension on their faces. What we can’t see is what stress is doing inside all our brains.
In high-pressure situations, the brain shifts to survival mode, according to Harvard Health. This means the mind is trying to decide whether to fight or flee.
The science looks like this: the brain’s amygdala triggers a stress response that prioritizes speed and threat detection over deliberation and planning. At the same time, the parts of the brain responsible for reasoning, prioritization, and decision-making become less effective. The results are a narrowed focus, a reduced patience for ambiguity, and a much lower tolerance for complex or unclear instructions.
This matters because emergencies demand a certain level of attention and action. PSPS events can stretch across hours or days, storm responses may involve rotating crews, and widespread outages require constant coordination between the office and the field. People don’t have time for careful study to understand procedures.
They’re scanning, skimming, and looking for ways to take immediate action.
Clarity here is a safety requirement. SOPs containing dense language, buried instructions, or assumptions about ideal conditions become harder to use when they’re needed most. True utility operational readiness means designing procedures that account for stress, limited attention, and the realities of an emergency response.
In short, the right actions to take should be easy to find, understand, and execute under pressure.
What Emergency-Ready SOPs Do Differently
SOPs that hold up during emergencies are designed differently from the start. Instead of prioritizing compliance language, effective utility emergency SOPs focus on usability under pressure:
- They rely on clear, action-oriented language.
- They apply logical sequencing that mirrors how work will happen in the field.
- They emphasize what to do first and provide decision points and escalation paths that are easy to find and follow.
The difference isn’t in formatting or length. Rather, it’s in intent. When an SOP is built to guide action in high-stress situations, it makes the right next step unmistakably clear.
The Role of Technical Writers: Designing for Use, Not Just Review
This is where technical writers for utilities take on a critical role. Far from simply editing documents, skilled technical writers act as problem solvers. They design SOPs that can be used during emergencies, not just during reviews.
They translate complex operations into clear, usable steps. They also ask practical questions about who will use the SOP, when they’ll need it, and under what conditions. They pressure-test procedures against real emergency scenarios, helping to ensure that instructions are still reliable even when systems are strained and time is limited.
“It’s not unusual for organizations to think that the person who will be using the SOP should be the one to write it,” explains Coralee. “But that person might be so deep in it that they struggle to distinguish what information actually needs to be included in the SOP. This results in an SOP that’s unclear, lacking in detail, and maybe too brief.”
A technical writer’s external perspective, then, is a huge benefit, she adds. Not only does it allow them to bridge that gap between regulatory language and field reality, but it also shows that if they, as an outsider, can understand the SOP, then the organization’s staff will be able to as well.
When SOPs are written with real users and real emergencies in mind, they support safe, confident action in the field, and a utility’s documentation becomes a tool that teams can rely on when it matters most.
Write for the Moment That Matters Most
Compliance isn’t thegoal here, but it is one outcome. If SOPs are written with usability in mind, they naturally stand up better to scrutiny than those written solely for review.
Clear, usable documentation strengthens utility operational readiness across the board. It gives crews direction, helps leaders make informed decisions, and reflects how work is really performed under pressure.
To find out if your SOPs are really emergency-ready, test them out, Coralee says.
“Run these exercises with field workers paired with an observer who trails them and actively collects feedback. I would also suggest requesting SOP feedback from the field workers right after the exercise is done, and to do this exercise multiple times with different field workers.”
The more practice, the better, so that when your next emergency hits — and you know it will, because emergencies are unavoidable — your organization will be fully prepared to face it.
