Safety Tips for Cold Weather
- Dress in light weight warm layers.
- Wear a hat. Try to stay dry and out of the wind.
- Limit time outdoors.
- Check on family members, neighbors and the elderly.
- Keep an emergency kit in your car and share your travel plans.
- Cell phone charger, first aid kit, jumper cables, full tank of gas, blanket, flashlight, warm coat, boots and gloves.
- Obviously, your electric heating system won’t run during an outage, but turn it off anyway. After power is restored, wait about 15 minutes before turning it on. As power is restored, it will help alleviates pressure on the grid to help power stay up.
- Bring pets inside.
- Protect water pipes.
- Let your faucet drip.
- Cover and insulate exposed outdoor pipes to prevent them freezing.
- Keep inside heat at 65º or more.
- Know how to shut off the main water supply in case a pipe does rupture.
- Know how to report a power outage to get power restored quickly.
- Download our app now to be prepared.
- Know how to text in an outage.
- Make sure we have your correct telephone numbers.
Visit our Report an Outage page to learn more .
Tips to Stay Warm During A Winter Power Outage
- To preserve the heat inside, avoid opening outside doors, including garage doors.
- Close blinds and drapes to help insulate.
- Dress in layers even when your inside.
- Never use outdoor barbecue grills, kerosene or camping heaters or generators inside your home because they emit carbon monoxide, which can be deadly.
- If you are having trouble keeping your home warm during a power outage consider spending the night with family or friends or at a hotel that has power.