SAFETY TIPS: What You Need To Know To Prepare For The Winter Storm

As you prepare for the winter weather headed to eastern Oklahoma, OG&E has put together some helpful tips to make sure you are ready.

BEFORE THE STORM HITS

1. Be Prepared

It pays to be prepared for a storm because you never know when one is going to hit. We suggest keeping the following items accessible for use until we can get your power back up:

• Flashlights and fresh batteries, candles or other illumination

• Battery-powered radio and/or television (for news updates)

• Battery-powered or wind-up clock

• Emergency telephone numbers

• Corded telephone

Given specific circumstances, outages often raise dangers you don't expect. Please study the following suggestions to prepare for the worst:

2. Safety Tips

• Stay away from power lines. These bare wires could be live.

• If a person or object is in contact with a power line, don't touch the person, object or line as the electric current could flow through you. Call 911 instead.

• If your vehicle is in contact with a power line, stay inside the car. Warn others not to touch the car or the power line.

• If you must leave your vehicle, jump clear to avoid being in contact with the car and the ground at the same time.

3. Winter Outages

• During the day, open your blinds to let the sun warm the space.

• At night, cover windows with drapes or blankets to minimize heat loss.

• Place heaters on a hard, non-combustible surface.

• If the indoor temperature drops to 55 degrees F, open faucets slightly so they drip to prevent pipes from freezing.

• Never use a gas range or charcoal for indoor heating.

4. Generator Safety

• Follow manufacturer's instructions for proper use of a portable generator.

• Operate the generator outdoors to avoid deadly fumes.

• Plug appliances directly into the portable generator or have it properly attached to your home's wiring by a qualified electrician.

• Never connect a portable generator to your home's main electrical panel or plug it into an electrical outlet.

HEADS UP FOR HOME SAFETY

The following valuable tips will help you keep your home and family safe around the potential dangers of electricity:

• Stay away from power lines and anything they are touching. They are bare wires and not insulated. Downed power lines may appear to be harmless but could be live.

• Be sure your generator is properly installed by a licensed electrician to prevent it from back feeding into our system, endangering linemen, and potentially causing a fire.

• Stay away from transformers. If locks are missing or broken, notify OG&E immediately.

• Leave 1 ½ foot clearance around a transformer if landscaping.

• Don't overload outlets.

• Stay away from substations. If something like a ball goes over the fence, call OG&E for assistance.

• Water and electricity don't mix.

• Look up before you climb and down before you dig. Power lines are located overhead and underground.

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