Safety During an Outage

Treat all downed or hanging power lines as if they are dangerous. Even if your home isn't receiving power, the power lines leading to it could be energized. Warn others to stay away from lines and contact us immediately if you see lines down.

Keep in mind a downed power line that's energized can cause other things around it to become potentially hazardous.  A fence or guardrail touching a downed line can be energized for several thousand yards, and this poses a threat to anyone coming into contact with these structures. Also, stay away from puddles of water in contact with downed lines.  Encountering these objects can be as hazardous as coming into contact with the downed power line itself.

Keep Your Home Safe

Never use a charcoal or gas grill to cook inside your home or garage; Carbon Monoxide can build up in your home and become deadly.

If you use a standby generator, make sure a transfer safety switch is used, or connect the appliance(s) directly to the generator.

One concern after a prolonged outage is the safety of your refrigerated and frozen foods. These tips are from the American Red Cross: If a power outage is less than two hours, you don't need to be concerned. If you expect the power to be out for longer, you'll need to pay attention to your perishable foods. If the temperature outside is below freezing you may be able to keep foods outdoors for longer periods than they would stay cold or frozen inside.

Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. A half-full freezer will keep food frozen 24 hours, a full freezer 48 hours. Refrigerated perishables should not be kept above 40 degrees for more than two hours. When the power is restored check your freezer. If foods have ice crystals and the temperature is not above 40 degrees the food safely can be refrozen.